June 17, 2020 | 12:10 am By Adam
J. Ang
STATE-OWNED National
Power Corp. (Napocor) will be conducting various assessments and inspections of
the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric complex (APHC) in Mindanao ahead of its
rehabilitation works once it can secure funds from the World Bank.
The Philippine
government has sought the assistance of the international financial institution
in supporting the much-needed rehabilitation of the Mindanao power generation
facilities.
Napocor President and Chief Executive Officer Pio J. Benavidez told BusinessWorld
that the company will start a feasibility study, as well as an environmental
and social study on the hydropower plants once the agreement between the
country and the bank is finalized.
Napocor’s plan has been
submitted in a report to the National Economic and Development Authority on May
27.
The rehabilitation
project is estimated to cost around $300 billion, according to a World Bank
report released on May 26.
“Most of the APHC
plants have been in operation for more than three decades and badly require
rehabilitation to extend their operational life, recover capacity and energy
output, and enhance safety of dams and reliability of supply,” it noted.
The Napocor-operated
Agus-Pulangi complex features seven run-of-river hydropower plants with a total
installed capacity of around 1,000 megawatts. It is owned by the Power Sector
Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
The power complex has
been slated for rehabilitation under the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Mindanao
Energy Plan 2018-2040 and the government’s flagship infrastructure program
Build, Build, Build.
The World Bank claimed
the rehabilitation of the power facilities will reduce Mindanao’s reliance on
electricity from coal-fired power plants.
“In the medium term, increased energy generated from APHC will reduce the need
to rely on further development of coal-fired power plants,” it said.
Meanwhile, a part of
the complex’s rehabilitation plan is the construction of the Balo-i flood
control project. The report highlighted the flooding situation in the midstream
section of the Agus river which affects the operations of two hydropower units.
Flood protection dikes
were supposed to be installed in the river’s low-lying section but security
issues prevent the operator from building them.
It is expected that the
World Bank funds will be rolled out in June next year.
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