Meralco keen on switch from coal to gas

Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is scrapping its plans to build two coal-fired power plants in Luzon, opting instead to convert them into gas-powered generation facilities.

- By BRIX LELIS

Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the power generation arm of the Meralco Group, earlier proposed the construction of a 670-megawatt plant in La Union and a 660-MW facility in Zambales.

However, MGen Gas Energy Holdings Inc. (MGas) president and CEO Yari Miralao said both facilities are "subject to the coal moratorium and can no longer be coal plants."

"The most prudent thing to do is not necessarily to double down but sprinkle it with a little more love to just convert these things into gas plants for our pipeline," he said.

The La Union and Zambales projects, respectively, are managed by MGen units Global Luzon Energy Development Corp. (GLEDC) and Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).