By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated April 25, 2016 - 12:00am
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Consent
from affected stakeholders is critical for SN Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP) to
finalize plans for the planned 350-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power facility
in Ifugao, a ranking official said.
The company is currently conducting
a feasibility study for each component of the integrated hydropower complex in
Lagawe, Ifugao, SNAP executive vice president and chief operating officer
Joseph Yu told reporters.
The approved renewable energy
service contract (RESC) for the project is composed of the 100-MW Alimit
hydroelectric power plant (HEPP), the 240-MW pumped storage facility, and the
10-MW Ollicon HEPP.
“The Alimit (facility) has three
components, namely the Alimit HEPP, the Olilicon HEPP and the pump storage, and
all three will be evaluated in their own merit,” Yu said.
When asked when the project will be
completed, Yu said there is still a lot of work to be done before pushing
through with the construction.
“We still have to go through FPIC
(free, prior and informed consent). We have 82 barangays to consult and then
still need to go through the provincial government. We still need to sort
through land issues of transmission line,” he said.
Getting the consensus of the affected
communities is imperative to get the project running, Yu said.
“The way it’s set up, it is designed
so that everybody has to be unanimous in supporting the project. You have to
get all consensus on each of those relevant stakeholders. If you don’t get them
on board, even just one of them, that could kill the whole thing,” he said.
The entire process could take 18
months, after which construction may take at least three and a half years, or
until 2021.
Another issue the company is looking
at is its financial viability.
Yu said the company can “control to
a certain extent” the engineering and capital expenditure side but not the
pricing, which is dependent on coal and oil prices, as well as the number of
capacities that will be built.
With current low commodity prices,
he said “it may not justify the investment” in the Alimit power facilities.
We look at a long term forecast for
coal prices and from there, we look at what kind of pricing we expect to see in
the future,” Yu said.
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