ABOITIZ-owned Therma South Inc. (TSI) will be constructing next month an Energy Education Center inside its 80-hectare facility in Davao City to teach public school students about its industry.
The center will be able to house at least 50 students and will offer short lectures on energy as well as technology and power plant operations, among others.
“The focus here will be on equipping students with knowledge about energy and how it works,” said TSI’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) manager Jason Magnaye.
The center will also house galleries, a small viewing room and some interactive displays that will orient students about energy. It will initially cater to public schools in nearby communities.
TSI is a 300-megawatt thermal power plant in Binugao, Toril, Davao City. The plant will commence commercial operations in the first half this year.
The power plant will deliver power to more than 20 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in the Mindanao grid. It features the coal dome, reportedly the first in Southeast Asia.
Aside from pushing energy education, the plant, according to Magnaye, is also embarking on various CSR projects such as tree planting, coastal forest rehabilitation, medical and dental mission, jobs fairs, and livelihood projects in partnership with the indigenous people.
As of July 2014, TSI has already generated 4,523 jobs during the construction phase.
TSI’s counterpart in the Visayas, Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI), is scouting for locations for their CSR projects. TVI CSR manager Edgar Nicolas disclosed they have ongoing studies and might go as far as Bohol for planned CSR initiatives.
In the meantime, the Toledo-based power plant has conducted two job fairs in its host barangay in Bato, Toledo City and in the city center to find workers qualified for available positions in the project.
TVI has started the construction of its 340-megawatt (MW) thermal power plant, which is due for completion in 2017. The power plant will serve the Visayas-Luzon grids.
Magnaye said most of the technology adopted in TSI, including the coal dome, will be duplicated in TVI.
TSI and TVI are subsidiaries of AboitizPower Corp.
