Meralco challenged to abandon coal-fired power plants

MANILA, Philippines — While it welcomed Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco) plan to develop renewable energy projects, the Murang Kuryente party-list also challenged the company to abandon all of its coal-fired power plants.

“Renewable energy [RE] is safer, more affordable, and more sustainable than coal, and it is welcome to hear Meralco say they are committing to it. But we don’t want RE to be a token PR project of the company,” Murang Kuryente spokesperson Gerry Arances said Thursday in a statement.

“Meralco should abandon all its coal-fired power plant projects and completely embrace RE,” he added.

Arances said this includes shutting down the Atimonan coal-fired powerplant currently under construction in Quezon.

“We hope that this change can be manifested in concrete solutions such as shutting down its Atimonan coal project instead of using RE just for PR purposes,” Arances said.

Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen), the power generation subsidiary of Meralco, is building a 1,200MW coal-fired power plant in Atimonan, Quezon.

“Meralco’s moves on its coal projects, and not its press releases, will be the true test of its commitment to more affordable electricity for its consumers,” Arances added.

Meralco recently announced its plan to develop 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy projects within the next seven years. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)