EDC PR 2016 (EC section)

Features
Our Climate-Resilient Power Plants:
Good As New
The Philippines has a recurring
place in the Climate Risk
Index by Germanwatch, being
consistently listed among the
top five countries most severely
affected by climate-related
hazards. Super Typhoon
Yolanda (international Haiyan),
which caused over 6,000
deaths and billions in damages
EDC’s thrust for the coming years is to build up the reliability of our power plants
in 2013, made the Philippines
the no. 1 most devastated country at the time. What followed was a period of rehabilitation and recovery,
and the realization that Filipinos and Filipino businesses cannot be complacent and expect to survive another
Category 5 typhoon.
As of 2016, EDC has typhoon-proofed 65 of 68 cooling tower cells in our facilities in typhoon-prone Bicol and
Leyte. The latter province was made prominent in the disaster-watch arena because of Yolanda, and is a recent
addition to the “typhoon belt” of the Philippines, which has shifted due to climate change to include parts of the
Visayas.
The Leyte Geothermal Business Unit (LGBU) aims to increase the resiliency of its cooling towers against Category
5 typhoons with wind speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour (kph), in order to address potential destruction and
unexpected outages of its plants due to these strong typhoons.
Upgrades to the Malitbog Cooling Tower were completed in January 2016, and the Tongonan Units 1 and
3 Cooling Towers in March and November 2016, respectively. Meanwhile, the Tongonan Unit 2 Cooling Tower
Phase 1 completed its typhoon-proofing in April 2016 and we expect to finish Phase 2 by April 2017. These
towers have a history of incurring damages after a strong typhoon. Originally, these were designed to withstand a
Category 4 typhoon with wind speeds of up to 200 kph.
Apart from the cooling towers, typhoon-proofing is also underway at Tongonan Powerhouse and projected to
finish by July 2017. Upgrades are also mid-way for the Upper Mahiao, Malitbog, and Mahanagdong Units A and
B Powerhouses and will be completed by March 2017, and the Tongonan, Mahanagdong, and Upper Mahiao
Warehouses by July 2017.
Taking its cue from its Leyte counterpart, Negros Island Geothermal Business Unit (NIGBU) will be obtaining some
of the excess spares from LGBU for its Cooling Towers as a mitigating measure in case of typhoon damage. NIGBU
will also undergo a Control System Integration upgrade in the next three years, with Palinpinon Unit 1 in 2018 and
then followed by Palinpinon Unit 2 in 2019.
Meanwhile, BacMan Geothermal Business Unit (BGBU) in Bicol is also nearly finished with its typhoon-proofing
projects. BGBU achieved its upgrades for Cawayan and Palayan Warehouses in January 2016; the Cawayan
Powerhouse in May 2016; the Cawayan Control Center in June 2016; and the Palayan Powerhouse in August 2016.
These rehabilitation projects are vital to survival in a place of storms. As Chairman, Federico R. Lopez, would fondly
quote Climate Reality Project founder Al Gore: “All our infrastructure were built for a world that’s now changing.”
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I Energy Development Corporation Performance Report 2016
SDG 9 102-11, 201-2