Philippines says Shell-operated Malampaya resumes gas deliveries

MANILA, April 15 (Reuters) - The Philippines said that a local unit of Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) had resumed natural gas deliveries from the country's Malampaya field to three major power plants after a month-long shutdown, but energy supply on the main island of Luzon remains tight.

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday urged electricity users to conserve energy supplies after the Luzon grid recorded its highest daily demand so far this year at 8,271 megawatts (MW), with appetite likely to rise further next month.

Southeast Asia fastest-growing economy faces an electricity shortfall in Luzon because of delayed power projects, which may hurt a revitalised manufacturing sector and booming call centre industries.

Some 16,400 MW of new supply is planned in the country over the next five years, but some projects have been held up by environmental opposition to coal-fired stations, while others are waiting for customers to commit to long-term supply deals.

Malampaya's maintenance shutdown, which started on March 15, had added to fears over interruptions to electricity supply, prompting President Benigno Aquino to seek special powers from Congress as early as September last year to avert brownouts. Lawmakers have yet to grant his request.

Shell Philippines Exploration BV, operator of Malampaya, has a 45-percent stake in the gas-to-power project that fuels First (Shanghai: 603806.SS - news) Gen Corp's 1,500 MW San Lorenzo and Santa Rita power plants, and the 1,200 MW Ilijan plant operated by San Miguel Corp's unit, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.

Chevron holds 45 percent of the project, while state-owned Philippine National Oil Co has 10 percent.

The country's power demand usually starts to rise as the weather warms in March, and then peaks in May, the DOE said in a statement. Air conditioners are typically cranked up in the summer.

The government has called on companies with standby diesel-fuelled power generators to help avert brownouts, asking them to participate in the so-called Interruptible Load Programme (ILP).

Under the ILP, participants with loads of at least 1 MW will run their generator sets, if needed, instead of drawing power from the grid.

As of April 10, 242 companies with a combined load of 910.1 MW had signed up, the DOE said, including big power users like SM Prime Holdings Corp and Ayala Land Inc, the country's biggest mall operator and condominium builder respectively. (Reporting by Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Joseph Radford)