business mirror
WEDNESDAY, 08 JUNE 2011 19:29 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER
SN Aboitiz Power (Snap)-Benguet Inc., the hydropower joint venture between SN Power of Norway and Aboitiz Power Corp., said on Wednesday that it continues to contribute to the economic development of its community with the commercial operation of its Unit 3 turbine.
“Snap-Benguet implements a corporate social responsibility [CSR] program that aims to support development projects in livelihood and ecotourism, education, health, governance, environmental protection, social infrastructure and indigenous peoples concerns,” Emmanuel Rubio, Snap president and chief executive, said.
He added that Snap-Benguet allocates a voluntary fund yearly for these community investments.
Snap-Benguet declined, however, to disclose total amount of funds allocated, saying that the amount varies every year depending on type and scale of projects.
Snap-Benguet said the fund is equitably allocated to host communities by province, municipality, barangay and indigenous community, and because of scope, the province usually gets a bigger share. Rubio said SnapP-Benguet is at the forefront of environmental protection in Benguet through the implementation of its watershed protection and conservation projects in coordination with the National Power Corp., which also supports the establishment of domain nurseries and agro-forestation projects with the Indigenous Peoples Organization of Bokod and Itogon, Benguet.
“Snap-Benguet’s strong commitment to CSR and sustainability enables it to make a difference in the lives of its communities and [make] impact on their sustainable development,” Rubio said.
Snap-Benguet also noted that it ensures a safe and healthy working environment for its employees.
Its Ambuklao and Binga plants, according to Snap-Benguet, posted a combined 3.75 million man-hours of zero lost-time incidents arising from workplace injury as of April 2011.
Snap-Benguet also makes sure that it meets and even exceeds the requirements of law, rules and regulations that govern the preservation and protection of the environment by promoting sustainability practices.
Ambuklao’s host municipality and province is Bokod, Benguet. It hosts two barangays—Ambuklao (after which the plant was named) and Tikey—and a community called Shakilan ni Ikulos-Indigenous Peoples’ Organization.
The Ambuklao plant now has 35 megawatts (MW) of capacity after two years of rehabilitation following a 12-year shutdown. Apart from helping the grid, added capacity also contributes to the development and growth of the plant’s host communities.
Ambuklao plant’s rehabilitation began in 2008 to restore the plant and increase its capacity from 75 MW to 105 MW.
The rehabilitation is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011 and its full operation will begin at end of the year.
The Ambuklao plant upgrade is another notable engineering feat entailing the construction of a new intake, headrace and penstock, elevation of tailrace tunnel outlet, de-silting of tailrace tunnel and replacement of electro-mechanical components.
Snap-Benguet’s renovation on its other facility, the Binga power plant, is ongoing. Began in 2010, the refurbishment will upgrade the plant from 100 MW to 120 MW one unit at a time within three to four years.
Snap acquired the Ambuklao-Binga hydropower plants through a bidding done by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. after offering to buy the assets for $325 million, respectively.
Built in 1956, Ambuklao was the first among the country’s largest hydroelectric power plants with an original installed capacity of 75 MW. Siltation and other technical problems caused by the 1990 earthquake that struck Benguet led to suspension of plant operations in 1999.
No comments:
Post a Comment