Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the geothermal power producer of the Lopez family, has taken over two geothermal plants in Kidapawan City from its build, operate, transfer (BOT) contractor Mindanao I Geothermal Partnership (MIGP).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, EDC said it has assumed full ownership and operation of the 52-megawatt Mindanao I and the 54-MW Mindanao II geothermal power plants, boosting the company's current portfolio of power generation assets.

"The turnover of the Mindanao power plants will fully integrate the value chain of the geothermal business from steam production to power generation, like our Leyte projects. We will be well-positioned to address and benefit from the robust growth in peak electricity demand in the Mindanao grid as we offer a cheaper and cleaner source of energy," EDC President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Aquino said.

The Mindanao I and Mindanao II geothermal plants started commercial operations in 1997 and 1999, respectively. In October 2006, EDC and MIGP agreed to extend Mindanao I power plant's BOT contract and delayed the plant's turnover until yesterday to coincide with Mindanao II power plant's turnover.

Since commissioning, the Mindanao plants have operated with an average availability factor of 90 percent and 98 percent at an average plant capacity of 91.3 percent and 92.5 percent, respectively.

Based on the 2006-2007 Mindanao Grid data, the two plants have generated an average of 10.56 percent of the entire electricity supply in Mindanao.

"The operation of the Mindanao power plants will continue to be efficient with the seamless turnover and fusion of expertise of EDC and Marubeni geothermists and engineers," Aquino said.

The two plants are the last of the BOT plants turned over to EDC after it assumed operations of the Unified Leyte plants from California Energy and Ormat in 2006 and 2007.

The Unified Leyte plants consist of the 125-MW Upper Mahiao, 232.5-MW Malitbog, 180-MW Mahanagdong, and 50.9-MW Optimization geothermal power plants. These supply electricity for the provinces of Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Panay, Biliran, Siquijor, Samar, and part of Southern Luzon.