NCIP shutters Benguet hydropower plants

BY LENIE LECTURA – JUNE 23, 2021
from Business Mirror

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR) has ordered Aboitiz Power Corp.’s unit to halt the operations of its run-of-river hydropower plants in Benguet.

Aboitiz Power said Wednesday that NCIP-CAR issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against Hedcor Inc.’s Lower Labay Hydro, FLS Hydro, and Lon-oy Hydro last June 22.

The issuance of the CDO was due to alleged irregularities regarding the Free Prior Informed Consent-Memorandum of Agreement (FPIC-MOA) between Hedcor and the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization (BITO) that was signed on October 15, 2019.

Hedcor maintained that it has been fully compliant. “We believe that we have been compliant with all the requirements during the course of the FPIC application process, and have been waiting for the issuance of the Certificate Precondition (CP) since the FPIC-MOA was signed,” Hedcor Vice President for Corporate Services Noreen Vicencio said in a statement.

The company said it would continue to actively reach out to the community for a dialogue, with the guidance of NCIP. “The CDO will not just affect Hedcor, but also the customers and communities we serve. At this time of a red alert situation in the Luzon grid, the continued operation of our plants is very crucial,” added Vicencio.

The company looks forward to continuing to provide the benefits that the Bakun community is currently receiving from the generation of the plants. Non-operation of the Bakun plants, however, means that the community shares and ER 1-94 funds will neither accrue nor accumulate.

Under the ER 1-94 program, power firms set aside P0.01 per kilowatt-hour of their total electricity sales as financial benefits to host communities, which shall be allocated to three types of funds: one-half of one centavo for the Electrification Fund of the concerned distribution utilities; one-fourth of one centavo for the development and livelihood fund; and another one-fourth of one centavo for the reforestation, watershed management, health and/or environment enhancement fund of the host local government units.

Aboitiz Power earlier reported that Hedcor recorded 182 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power generation in the first quarter, exceeding its own forecast of 123 million kWh.

In 2020, Hedcor recorded an annual generation of 957gigawatt hours, powering around 400,000 households year-round.

Aboitiz Power envisions a 50:50 balance between its renewable and thermal portfolios by 2030.