Hedcor seeks IP consent for Benguet hydro plant

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 1, 2016 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/12/01/1649013/hedcor-seeks-ip-consent-benguet-hydro-plantMANILA, Philippines – Hedcor Inc., a unit of Aboitiz Power Corp., is securing the approval of the indigenous people (IP) to put up the 45-megawatt (MW) Kabayan run-of-river power project in Benguet.

Hedcor is currently undergoing Free Prior and Informed Consent (PFIC) process – led by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) – for the proposed 45-MW power plant under subsidiary Hedcor Cordillera Inc.

“We are only in the early stages of consensus building and it’s typical that you don’t get full consensus at the start,” AboitizPower executive vice president and generation business group COO Manny Rubio said in a text message.

“The local community have communicated their concerns and we aim to address the issues raised in the next round of discussions,” he said.

In 2015, Hedcor secured a certificate of registration from the Department of Energy for the 45-MW Nalatang B hydropower Kabayan project, allowing the project to move to the pre-development stage.

The Nalatang B project was awarded by state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. Renewables Corp. (PNOC-RC) through a contractual joint venture scheme. PNOC-RC received a service contract from the DOE in Oct. 29, 2009 to develop Nalatang hydropower resource, which is located in Agno River, Kabayan, Benguet.  It lies 85 kilometers from the first-class municipality of La Trinidad.

Hedcor owns and operates 22 run-of-river hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 185 MW.

It is also currently working on the $280.4-million Manolo Fortich project in Bukidnon, which is targeted for completion by the second quarter of 2017.