THE ISLA Norte Energy Corp. (INEC) has recently inaugurated the 23-megawatt diesel power plant on Bantayan Island, effectively providing additional power supply in one of Cebu’s tourist destinations.
Bantayan Island is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu across the Tañon Strait.
INEC president and chief executive officer Emil Andre Garcia said the increasing power supply in Bantayan opens greater opportunities for the island, especially for investments in the tourism sector.
“The beaches here are really beautiful. Once tourists come here, aside from the beaches, they want (a) steady supply of power, for the internet, aircon, etc. We’re hoping that with the steady supply, we can see that boom in the economy,” Garcia said during the switch on ceremony.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued to INEC - a joint venture of Vivant Integrated Diesel Corp. and Gigawatt Power Inc. - a provisional authority to operate its first power plant in Bantayan.
INEC will be supplying its output to Bantayan Electric Cooperative Inc. Of the total capacity, the Bantayan power plant guarantees 15 MW dependable capacity, enough to supply the peak demand in the island. Some 7.27 MW will be the reserved supply.
Garcia, who is also an executive at Vivant Corp., said Vivant is supporting the government’s push for renewable energy (RE) as the company eyes to build more RE facilities in the future. “We want to have at least 30 percent of our portfolio on RE. So over the next couple of years, we want to build over 300 megawatts of renewable plants,” he said. (Kris Raymundo)
