Benguet power coop, IPs to develop 20 MW hydropower plant
Talks on the proposed putting up of a 20 megawatt hydropower plant in Kabayan town in Benguet province are almost done between the Benguet Electric Cooperative and the indigenous people communities in the town. Mr Delmar Cariño, Beneco manager for legal and corporate affairs, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview said that “Our closest deal is working on a project development proposal with ONKASKA (Onjon ni Kasiguran shi Kabayan), which is the IP of Kabayan and we are getting excited on a 20-MW possibility.”
Mr Cariño said the talks are exploring the possibility of exhausting the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) for a partnership between the electric cooperative and the IPs in Benguet for the joint exploration of hydro potentials. He said that once completed and made operational, the project will benefit all consumers of Beneco, the IPs and the whole town of Kabayan.”
Mr Cariño added that “It will lessen our dependence on coal or fossil fuel. It will enable Beneco to use power from renewable energy.”
Beneco currently averages a monthly utilization of 70MW of power, which is supplied to all types of consumers in its franchise area, covering Baguio and Benguet.
Cariño said the proposed hydropower plant will also redound to lower cost of electricity for consumers, since Beneco would be producing its own electricity supply instead of buying from commercial producers.
The lawyer said that “Because the generation facility is embedded within franchise area, the level of generation cost that will be passed on to the consumers will be priced lower and the price per kilowatt hour can also be sold at a reduced price.”
Beneco, he said, is a non-stock, non-profit distribution utility owned by the consumer-members, thus, it does not need to earn much.
Cariño said under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, electric distribution utilities are permitted to go into power generation if the source is from renewable energy.
Meanwhile, Beneco’s 3-MW facility in Buguias town in the province is expected to be operational in 2019, the executive said.
Like the agreement in Buguias, after 25 years, the community will co-own the proposed Kabayan power plant, that would be an additional income for Kabayan town.
Source : Pna Gov.Ph