Mt. Province first hydro plant inaugurates 

June 19, 2015

The 14MW Sabangan Hydropower plant, Hedcor’s first venture in the Mountain Province is ready to deliver an additional 55-gigawatts of clean and renewable energy annually to the Luzon Grid.Attended by the community and local officials, the inauguration of Sabangan Hydro marks the fulfillment of a commitment between Hedcor and its host communities.

“Ginawa ng Hedcor, pero sa atin ang biyaya,” Alfredo Ramon, an IP in the community expressed.

The construction of the plant lasted almost two years from its June 2013 groundbreaking. About 290 professional and skilled locals worked on the project. Over 90 contracts comprised of infrastructure, civil works and forest management projects amounting to 66 million were awarded to Mountain Province locals.

“Thank you Hedcor for investing and being a partner of development in our municipality. To my kakailians, thank you for not giving up. Let us mark this day May 6, 2015 as the start of the first hydropower plant in Mt. Province”, Sabangan Mayor Donato Danglose said in his speech.

Presidential sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada also graced the occasion and was amazed by the beauty of Mt. Province. Department of Energy Atty. Marissa Cerezo also commented on the wonders that Mt. Province holds.

Using a run-of-river system, Sabangan hydro will harnesses the natural force of the Chico River by diverting part of the water into the system. The water then exits the powerhouse and goes back to the river.

Governor Leonard Mayaen backs the mini-hydro saying, “The introduction of mini-hydro is very environmental friendly, it has no pollution at all. We thank Hedcor for including Mt. Province in your expansion program. Hedcor will always be there to help our social concerns-I know that. This is the beginning for the people of Mt. Province to reap benefits.”

The community is benefiting from 5-kilometers of farm-to-market roads in Barangay Napua and Namatec, which are currently being utilized to transport local produce. Meanwhile, eight locals from Mountain Province will operate the 14MW Sabangan Hydro.71, 332 trees covering 37 hectares in Sabangan and Bauko were planted during the construction, which was participated in by Hedcor, contractors and the community.About 16 million worth of annual shares, taxes and royalties will be remitted to the barangay, municipality, province and the indigenous people community. This is separate from Hedcor’s corporate social responsibility programs geared towards enhancing education, enterprise development and the environment of Sabangan.

“Thank you for accepting us in Sabangan, hopefully other municipalities here in Mt. Province will appreciate run-of-river hydropower and be our partner in providing renewable energy.” Rene Ronquillo, President and COO of Hedcor said.Marching towards its vision of 2 Billion kilowatt-hours by 2020, Hedcor harmonizes People, Planet and Profit for a BetterWorld embracing the mindset “we can do well by doing good, always looking at the long term decision”.Hedcor is a subsidiary of AboitizPower operating 22 run-of-river hydropower plants in Benguet, Davao, Ilocos Sur and Mt. Province with a total capacity of 185MW. Last April 22, Hedcor broke ground for the 68.8MW Manolo Fortich Project in Bukidnon, it is Hedcor’s largest project in Mindanao.