Two firms to conduct safety study for Napocor’s remaining dams

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TUESDAY, 13 MARCH 2012 20:12 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER

THE state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) will ask two companies to do a safety study on the remaining dams it operates and controls, Pio Benavidez, the company’s senior vice president, told reporters.

Benavidez said the study will determine structural integrity of the dams in the light of recent natural calamities and disasters. Napocor controls Angat dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, and the San Roque dam in Pangasinan. The power firm also control the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric power plants that are powered through reservoirs or dams.

“Every five years, Napocor is mandated to do a study on the long-term safety and stability of the dams,” Benavidez said.

He said they have found no problem with the dams since the last earthquake in December 1999. “Nevertheless, we have to do the study,” he added.

Benavidez said Engineering Development Corp. of the Philippines (Edcop), one of the leading engineering consultancy companies in the country, will conduct a safety study on the Angat dam and dike in Norzagaray, Bulacan, in May.

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has already issued a notice of award to Edcop for the study which had the highest bid at P30.78 million and also passed the technical and financial evaluation.

Edcop, which is primarily involved in the engineering and design service for power and industrial systems, water resources, and agricultural infrastructures, entered into a joint-venture agreement with Tonkin and Taylor International to undertake the Angat safety study.

Tonkin & Taylor is an employee-owned, New Zealand environmental and engineering consultancy company that provides innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions for a diverse range of clients.

Angat dam supplies 97 percent of the service area of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, generates approximately 246 megawatts of power for the Luzon Grid through the Angat power plant, and irrigates 25,000 hectares of rice land for the National Irrigation Authority.

The Angat dam safety project is being undertaken in coordination with the MWSS, National Irrigation Administration, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Office of Civil Defense, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and the provincial government of Bulacan.

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In Photo: Angat dam