The client said the refurbishment of the 100MW plant would add approximately 18MW to the installed capacity and 25 years to the life of the equipment, it said in a statement. The first of the plant’s two units is to be refurbished and upgraded over July-December 2009 and the second unit is expected to be completed a year later.
The plant was built in 1977 and was the first significant facility owned by the National Power Corp (NPC) to be sold by the Power Sector and Liabilities Management Corp (Psalm). First Gen noted that the plant will also be among the first of the plants that were sold to undergo refurbishment.
First Gen bought the Pantabangan plant along with the Masiway facility, which have a combined capacity of 112MW. The purchase price was US$129M in September 2006. In late 2006 the initial plan was to add 30MW to Panabangan – 15MW to each of the 50MW units.
Beyond the refurbishment and upgrade, First Gen was also looking to install additional units at each plant capable of producing 65MW and 13MW, respectively. Originally the expansion work was to follow the refurbishment, in 2010. The proposed total capacity to be added with extra units remains at 78MW.
