Philippines: Geothermal Power Plants Knocked Offline by Earthquake

EDC shuts down geothermal power plants in Ormoc (Inquirer.net)

Cracks caused by the magnitude 6.5 earthquake on Thursday are visible in Barangay Tongonan, Ormoc City in Leyte. On the background are steams coming from the geothermal power plants ran by the Energy Development Corp. Photo courtesy of Cathy Ig-agao Pabganiban

Energy Development Corp. has shut down its power plants in Barangay Tongonan, Ormoc City, Leyte following the earthquake that rocked the province on Thursday.

“For now, all of the plants are shut down and we are evaluating the damage. We will have a more detailed assessment as more information becomes available,” said EDC president Ricky Tantoco in a statement issued on Friday.

The geothermal power plants in Leyte provided 460 MW of power to the Visayas grid before the earthquake hit at 4:03 p.m. on Thursday.

Tantoco said they had accounted all its 502 employees and contractors on site although there were minor injuries reported.

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