Published on 27/08/2014
Egco plans Rayong industrial estate Former power plant set for development Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), Thailand's second-largest private power producer, wants to diversify to industrial estates, with the first project located on its 500-rai former power plant in Rayong. President Sahust Pratuknukul said Egco had previously planned to redevelop the plant, which fed electricity to manufacturers in Map Ta Phut for 20 years. The gas-fired plant's operating concession from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand will expire at the end of November. The Electricity Regulatory Commission is not expected to renew the concession, as the plant has old, inefficient facilities and technology. Egco is in talks with large petrochemical producers in the area as potential clients while it conducts a feasibility study for the industrial estate. The Rayong plant was the first in Thailand to be granted an operating concession under the power privatisation programme. Its eight generators have total capacity of 1,200 megawatts. Egco must decide whether to sell the generators or ship them to neighbouring countries where it is developing power plants. Early last year, Egco joined bidding for licences under Thailand's third independent power producer programme with the aim of reinvesting in the Rayong plant. However, only Gulf Electric won a licence amid criticism from rivals and industrial experts. Egco was last year awarded a concession for the gas-fired Khanom power plant in Nakhon Si Thammarat for another 20 years to serve rising demand in the South.
Its concession will end by mid-2016, while capacity after renovation will rise to 930 MW from 750 MW. Mr Sahust said the shutdown of the Rayong plant would have no effect on Egco's performance due mainly to its aggressive expansion. It has another eight projects under development with combined capacity of 1,600 MW. Once the projects are operating, its total capacity in 2019 will be at 5,000 MW from 4,760 MW now. Four of the projects will start operations between now and 2019. They are a waste-to-energy power plant in Songkhla, the renovated Khanom plant, the Xayaburi hydropower project in Laos and a wind farm in Australia's New South Wales state. The other four projects are scheduled to operate from 2016-17 and comprise three gas-fired power plants in the Central region and a wind farm in Chaiyaphum. Last year Egco acquired shares in two coal-fired power plants in the Philippines, comprising 49% in San Buenaventura Power Co and 41% in Masinloc Power Partners Co, with combined capacity of 1,100 MW. Egco posted a second-quarter net profit of 2.47 billion baht, up by 52.5% yearon-year, thanks to the new Philippine capacity. Its first-half net profit was 4.95 billion baht, up by 23.4% year-on-year. EGCO shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 166.50 baht, down one baht, in trade worth 45.2 million baht.