World's biggest plane to deliver 140-ton power generator to PHL

Published November 12, 2013 5:15am

(Updated 7:06 p.m., Nov. 12, 2013) Lopez-led First Gen Corp. on Tuesday said it has taken delivery of the new transformer for its wholly-owned subsidiary FGP Corp. which operates a natural gas-fired power plant in Batangas.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, First Gen noted the 150-ton replacement transformer was successfully flown into using an Antonov 255 aircraft, which landed at Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

FGP will install the transformer in the San Lorenzo plant, a key asset to the Luzon grid, to replace a similar equipment which caught fire a few months ago.

The world's largest plane is delivering a power generator to a plant in the Philippines, a freelance photojournalist network site reported over the weekend.

Demotix.com said over the weekend the Ukrainian Antonov AN-225 landed in Zagreb airport Pleso to ship a power generator to the San Lorenzo power plant.

"Due to thunder strike Philippine power plant San Lorenzo lost one of two generators that were made by ... Croatian electric company Kon?ar. Because of this a lot of Philippine population is without electrical energy and Philippine power plant is in hurry to get a new generator," it said.

It added the operation to lift the 140-ton generator with special cranes took all day.

FGP saw a need to expedite the manufacture and delivery of the replacement transformer to ensure sufficient power supply and stability in the Luzon grid," the disclosure read.

The transformer raises electricity voltage produced by the generator from 16.5 kilovolts (kV) to 240 kV, enabling the delivery of electricity through transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

FGP tapped an international team composed of Siemens Power Operations Inc., Siemens Koncar, Antonov Company, ACE, AIG and Inter Hanover, and Loss Adjusters Crawford and Company for the acquisition and delivery of the transformer.

Royal Cargo Combined Logistics will transport the transformer from Mactan to the plant site in Batangas City.

The Antonov AN-225 is capable of transporting weight up to 250 tons, the site noted.

Demotix said that while Kon?ar made the new 310-MVA generator a month ahead of schedule, the generator's weight presented a problem in terms of transport.

Transporting it by sea "would take another 45 days," it added.

Because of this, it said the Philippine power plant's insurer hired Antonov airlines to get the job done.

Demotix noted the Antonov AN-225 weighs 300 tons empty and has a wingspan of 88 meters.

"It was designed for military purposes, but today it servers as mega cargo plane used for transporting extremely heavy loads," it said. — With a report by Sieg Alegado/ELR/VS, GMA News

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