Palawan power plant gets tax break
THE PHILIPPINES’ Board of Investments has granted DMCI Power Corp a six-year income tax holiday for its 2 x 4.95-megawatt, bunker-fired power plant in Aborlan, Palawan, the Consunji-owned firm said on Tuesday.
In the agency’s latest Investment Priorities Plan, power projects in missionary areas qualify for pioneer status.
In a statement, DMCI Power said its entitlement to the tax incentive was determined based on its project’s ability to contribute to the economy’s development as measured by its net value added, new jobs generated, multiplier effect and measured capacity.
“This incentive will effectively lower DMCI Power’s true cost of generation charge, in the end benefiting the electricity consumers of Palawan,” DMCI Power president Nestor Dadivas said.
The tax holiday will be applied once the Aborlan facility begins commercial operations or six years from next month, whichever is earlier.
DMCI Power is investing around 620 million pesos (Bt441 million) to build the facility, which will contribute nearly 10MW to the Palawan grid, specifically the franchise area of Palawan Electric Cooperative Inc.
“Construction of the Aborlan plant is proceeding as scheduled,” Dadivas said. “We expect it to go online by the end of the year.”
He earlier said DMCI Power’s investment in Aborlan would “address the continuing increase in electricity demand in the province due to the rise of local tourism and commercial establishments”.
Demand for electricity in Palawan – which is not connected to the main national grid – had been growing faster than expected at 15 per cent, catching even DMCI Power off guard as it had projected only around 12 per cent.