Aboitiz Power adds 5 MW supply to Zamboanga coop

MANILA, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corp. has contracted an additional five megawatts (MW) of clean energy to Zamboanga Del Norte Electric Cooperative (Zaneco) from its Manolo Fortich hydropower facility in Bukidnon which will be completed in the third quarter of 2017.

AboitizPower said in a statement yesterday its subsidiary Hedcor Bukidnon Inc. signed a power supply deal with Zaneco for an additional five-MW power supply for its franchise areas in 2017.

This is on top of the five-MW supply contract Hedcor and Zaneco inked in June 2016.

In total, Hedcor’s 68.8-MW Manolo Fortich hydropower project will provide 10 MW of contracted supply.

“Manolo Fortich hydro will enable us to further our commitment to support the energy needs of our country, particularly Mindanao. At AboitizPower, we look beyond profitability and explore better ways to integrate good social development and responsible environmental stewardship into our business operations,” Hedcor vice president for Mindanao operations Rolando Pacquiao said.

With Zaneco’s additional power contract, Hedcor’s Manolo Fortich plant now has a total of 23 MW of power contracted.

Other partner electric cooperatives are Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2, Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative, Misamis Occidental I Electric Cooperative and Siargao Electric Cooperative.

The 68.8-MW Manolo Fortich hydropower project in Bukidnon will be the latest addition to AboitizPower’s growing portfolio of renewable energy in the country under the Cleanergy brand.

Hedcor will tap the rivers of Tanaon, Guihean, and Amusig for its two cascading run-of-river power plants in Manolo Fortich, producing 360 gigawatt-hours of clean and renewable energy every year for the Mindanao grid.

Manolo Fortich 1, which is contracted to JV Angeles Construction, is now 70 percent complete while, Manolo Fortich 2, which is being constructed by Sta. Clara International Corp., is now on its 68 percent completion status.

Hedcor currently operates 22 hydropower plants in the country—five of which are located in Davao City, four in Davao del Sur, 11 in Benguet, one in Mountain Province, and one in Ilocos Sur. These power plants produce a combined 185 MW of clean and renewable hydropower energy.