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Friday, March 29, 2024

Prevent shutdown of Benguet hydro plants, DOE urged

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Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged the Department of Energy to exercise its mandate to resolve the issues surrounding the impending shutdown of three hydroelectric power plants in Benguet province.

Gatchalian raised concern over the closure of the power plants amid the yellow and red alerts threatening the Luzon grid.

“At a time when there’s a threat of yellow and red alerts in the power supply, we have to make sure that all plants are up and running especially now that we’re in the middle of a global health crisis,” Gatchalian said, reacting on reports about the cease-and-desist order issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in Cordillera to Hedcor Inc.

Hedcor, operator of Labay, Lon-oy and F.L. Singit run-of-river hydropower plants in Bakun town, Benguet, with a total capacity of 12.4 megawatts, was given five days to wind down their operations following the issuance of the CDO on June 22.

The order to stop operations stemmed from alleged issues in obtaining consent from indigenous tribes, particularly the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization.

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Under the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997, project developers can only acquire permits and licenses upon the issuance of the certification precondition by the NCIP which proves consent from the indigenous community where the project will be situated.

Aboitiz Power Corp., which controls Hedcor, earlier said the issuance of the CDO on June 22 was due to alleged irregularities on the Free Prior Informed Consent Memorandum of Agreement between unit Hedcor and the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization signed on Oct. 15, 2019.

“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 since the FPIC-MOA was signed,” Hedcor vice president for corporate services Noreen Vicencio said in a statement.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Commitee on Energy, said that while the issue confronting Hedcor and the indigenous communities are legal in nature, “I implore the NCIP and DOE to work out a possible solution.”

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