The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) has scheduled an initial public consultation on the proposed 2,000-megawatt (MW) Maton pumped-storage hydropower plant (PSHPP) in Pudtol, Apayao.
In a notice posted on its website, the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) set the public scoping for April 29, during which Pan Pacific Renewable Power Phils. Corp., the proponent, will discuss with the public an overview of the proposed project and gather issues, concerns and other relevant information. Public scoping is an early stage in EMB’s environmental impact assessment process.
EMB said the project cost is P261.7 billion.
The notice said on March 25, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Pan Pacific with a Hydropower Service Contract to develop the project. The contract was amended from a run-of-river to a PSHPP through an approval letter dated Dec. 27, 2024, it added.
Power grid stability
It also explained that Maton PSHPP will impound a reservoir along the Maton river, a tributary of the Apayao-Abulug river, to contribute to power grid stability and function as an energy storage to help facilitate the increased integration of variable renewable energy capacities in the national grid.
The EMB added in the notice that all interested parties, organizations and agencies are encouraged to provide inputs during the public review period.
Maton PSHPP is also planned to be connected with the 150 MW Gened-1 impounding hydro power project also being developed by Pan Pacific Renewable in the same area, with a reservoir storage of 158.3 million cubic meters and a previously reported capital cost of P19.8 billion.
Highest capacity
Last January, data from the DOE showed the Maton PSHPP had the highest capacity among those which underwent system impact studies (SIS) with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for that month.
SIS is needed to be conducted with the NGCP to determine the effects of a proposed power project to customer connections in a grid and discover if certain adjustments in the system are needed such as additional transmission lines, transformers or substations.
Based on data from the DOE, as of end-2024, the total installed capacity from hydro sources for both on-grid and off-grid power plants totaled at 3,867 MW or 12.7 percent of the 30,513 MW overall installed on-grid capacity in the Philippin es, excluding battery storage and diesel-battery hybrid systems.
