The much awaited power barge will be pulling out from General Santos City on Wednesday.
Once commissioned, the barge from SPC Power Corp. can add 25 megawatts which is very much needed in order to end the brownouts which continue to hit most parts of the province in a lesser span of time as compared before the power from Leyte resumed.
In a check made by the Chronicle, brownouts happen on an average of once every two to three days for about two to four hours.
When pressed to give his latest assessment on the arrival of the power barge here, Engr. Jun Pepito of SPC Power Corp. said the barge is on a dry dock with its engine being overhauled to ensure its efficient performance once commissioned to load power here. The barge has a rated capacity of 32 mega but its effective power output is noted at 26 megawatts.
If the 4,800 gross tonnage barge can leave GenSan as scheduled on Wednesday, it is expected to arrive at the mooring area in Cortes town in August 2 as the towing will take seven days.
What is feared to delay the commissioning of the barge is the damaged mooring area in Cortes town.
The SPC official said that per ocular inspection, the mooring area in Cortes was severely damaged during the 2016 strong earthquake. The rehabilitation of the mooring area will take two months due to dilapidated piles .
However, Engr, Pepito assured their company will expedite the commissioning of the barge by putting floaters while the rehabilitation work will continue including the placement of a 50-ton bollard.
He expects the commissioning of the barge four to five days after its arrival from GenSan City. Barring any unforseen technical problem in the preparation of the mooring area, the barge is expected to be commissioned by August 10. Loading of fuel will be done here since the barge is fuel-empty in order to have a lighter gross tonnage when towed from GenSan.
SPC Power Corp. will shoulder the expenses for the rehabilitation of the mooring area while their company has already commissioned local contractors to work for the repair of the mooring area, he assured.
Meanwhile, the other barge coming from Iloilo City has no timetable yet as to its arrival here,
Manager Joy Billones of Phinma Energy said their company will still meet tomorrow to assess the technical condition of the mooring facilities at the Tapal Port in Ubay town.
Tomorrow’s meeting at their Makati offices will determine if their barge can be moored in Ubay. The company will also hold a separate meeting with authorities of the National Grid Corp. of the Phil (NGCP) to finalize the arrangements for the commissioning of the barge to the grid system.
The towing of the barge to Bohol is the least concern since the barge is in good working condition, he said.
The actual travel time from Iloilo City is three days. The processing of documents for the deployment of the barge would run four days, he said.
Manager Billones declined to issue any timetable as to the arrival and commissioning of their barge as assessment of the mooring area and the application for the transfer of the barge will still be made.
The barge has a rated capacity of 32 mega while its effective power output is 24 mega.
If these two barges can already be commissioned, the province will have an additional power of 49 to 50 megawatts which would be sufficient to stabilize the present power requirement of 80 megawatts.
The existing power from Leyte varies from 51 to 56 megawatts.