Government should start rehab of Agus hydro power plants

MANILA, Philippines - The government should start the rehabilitation program of the decades-old Agus hydroelectric power plants amid the power surplus in Mindanao, Aboitiz Power Corp. president and chief operating officer Antonio Moraza said.

He said with more power plants getting built, the perennial problem of the Mindanao power shortage is gone. He emphasized the region must now take advantage of its energy surplus to spur the economy.

“With all the supply coming into Mindanao today, it may be time for the government to finally decide on the fate of the Agus complex. Perhaps it is time for these old power plants to be rehabilitated,” Moraza said.

However, studies are needed in order to determine how the proposed Agus rehabilitation should be done and by whom, he said.

The Agus hydroelectric power plants are generating an installed capacity of 727 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. It currently has a dependable capacity of around 400 MW according to the Mindanao Development Authority.

With some of the Agus units constructed as early as the 1950s, many sectors have been calling for an extensive rehabilitation of the facilities so it can operate at an optimum efficiency.

“Now that power supply is no longer an issue, it can be said that Mindanao is truly open for business,” Moraza said. 

Apart from sufficient power supply, peace and order and eradicating corruption and red tape will also bring in more investments in the region.

In the case of Agus, Moraza cited AboitizPower’s successful rehabilitation of the Ambuklao hydroelectric power plant in Ifugao, a facility built in 1956 that was abandoned by the government after the 1990 earthquake that struck Baguio.

“We took over Ambuklao in 2008. We invested resources, brought in experts, and worked with the government to make the plant run again. In 2011, we not only brought back the plant, but also increased its installed capacity from 70 MW to 105 MW. With the same amount of water, energy produced has increased by 50 percent,” Moraza said.  

The company invested in power in Mindanao since the early 1900s when it first acquired Jolo Power Co. Later on, AboitizPower expanded through distribution utilities Davao Light and Cotabato Light which are now serving two of the fastest growing regions in Mindanao.  

Today, the Aboitiz Group, through its holding company Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV), continues to pour investments in Mindanao.

Pilmico, the company’s food subsidiary, continues to meet the demand for flour and feeds in Visayas and Mindanao.  Its banking arms, UnionBank of the Philippines and CitySavings Bank, have been providing financial services to customers all over the island.

AEV’s new subsidiary Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., in partnership with the Davao City Water District, will soon begin the construction of its bulk water facility which will address the water supply problems in Davao City.