TOLEDO CITY, Cebu – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally put into operation the first of three units of the 246 megawatt (mW) of the coal-fired power plant of the Cebu Energy Development Corporation (CEDC) in Toledo City Friday.

The switch-on ceremony signals the full operations of the 82-mW first unit of the three-unit power plant and comes at a time when Cebu and other provinces in the region are experiencing rotating brownouts lasting up to two hours a day, causing work stoppages and inadvertent loss of income for businesses and individuals.

"Today the Visayas grid is experiencing shortage of supply. With the launching of the 82 megawatt power plant, the whole Visayas can now meet its present needs," President Arroyo said after the ceremonial switch on of the P3 billion plant.

CEDC's $450-million, or roughly P3 billion coal-fired power plant, is a joint venture among Global Business Power Corporation (GBPC) of the Metrobank group, Formosa Heavy Industrial Corporation, Aboitiz Power Corporation, and Vivant Power Corporation.

The other two units of the 246 MW power plant are expected to go online by the end of May and the end of December; respectively.

Once the Toledo plant is fully operational, CEDC President Jesus Alcordo, said they hope to install a dependable energy supply of 216 mW for the Visayas grid, reducing the unfilled energy demand and reserve deficit to only 17 mW from the current 233 mW.

"This new power plant signals the end of rotating brownouts in the Visayas and the end of Cebu;s importation of power from Luzon," said the President, adding that Cebu can even become an exporter of power to Luzon and Mindanao.

The switch-on ceremony, which comes at a time when Cebu and other parts of Visayas are in the midst of a precarious power situation, is a breakthrough not only for the CEDC but also for the province of Cebu.

Meanwhile, the Cebu provincial government is "seriously considering" putting up a nuclear power plant in Cebu to address the island's power needs.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, after the presentation of Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco Thursday on nuclear power being a cheap alternative power source, directed the Cebu provincial board to study the proposal.

She said her favorable position on nuclear pwoers was already known before.

Garcia admitted that it is "taboo" to discuss nuclear power.

When Garcia's position was published in the papers, Cojuangco read about it and wrote the governor a letter so he can make a presentation about it. (With a report from the PNA)