Negros town mayor goes all-out for coal plants

The mayor of a key Negros Occidental city declared full support for coal power plants, saying these are necessary to sustain the economy of the province and its highly urbanized areas.

Patrick Escalante, mayor of Cadiz City, said on Sunday that the province’s economy would be in jeopardy in five years if it didn’t have its own sources of power by that time.

Having its own power sources would also help the province supply cheap electricity to consumers, said the mayor.

“We are doing this to ensure that the Negros economy survives,” said the mayor to explain why he is supporting coal power plants.

The mayor said last week that two firms have proposed to reclaim 50 hectares at the Cadiz port area to serve as site for coal power plants and an economic zone.

He identified one of these firms as Philippine Power Corp., a conglomeration of Filipino and Chinese investors. The other one, he said, is Pacific Energy Corp., which is owned by Indonesian, Filipino and Chinese businessmen.

The two firms want to build a 100-megawatt coal power plant in the proposed reclamation site, said Escalante.

He said the City Council of Cadiz had agreed to accept the proposals of the two firms.

The mayor denied that allowing coal plants in Cadiz would violate a policy to promote renewable energy in Negros Occidental that was adopted in 2002.

Escalante said he was not aware of the existence of the policy, adding that even the province’s governor, Alfredo Marañon Jr., supported coal power plants.