Amid the recent incidents of power supply shortages in the Luzon Grid, three run-of-river hydropower plants in Bakun, Benguet with a total capacity of 12.15 megawatts (MW) are ordered to stop operations.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AboitizPower Corp. said power plants of subsidiary Hedcor were slapped with a cease and desist order (CDO) by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR) .
The company said the CDO dated June 22 cited alleged irregularities in the free prior informed consent-memorandum of agreement (FPIC-MOA) between Hedcor and the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization (BITO) signed on October 2019.
Among the hydro power plants that would have to temporarily stop generating electricity are the 2.4 MW Lower Labay, the 6.15 MW FLS and the 3.6 MW Lon-oy.
NCIP-CAR ordered the company to cease operations of the power plants, five days after receipt of the CDO and Hedcor said had reached out for a dialogue with BITO and the NCIP.
“We believe 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,” said Noreen Vicencio, Hedcor vice president for corporate services.
“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,” she added.
The company said that despite the issuance of the CDO, it will continue to actively reach out to the community for a dialogue with the indigenous peoples of Bakun with the guidance of NCIP.
However, Hedcor said that non-operation of the power plants mean that the community shares in its power sales will neither accrue nor accumulate.
Based on the Department of Energy’s report as of October 2020, AboitizPower has the biggest share in installed generating capacity in the entire country at 4,973.4 MW equivalent to a share of 21.3 percent of the total 23,409.7 MW. – Jed Macapagal
