Siltation stalls Ambuklao Dam's reopening next year

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines – The expected re-commissioning of the Ambuklao Dam in Benguet this year, after being in hibernation for almost two decades following the 1990 tremor, has been delayed for next year due to last year’s typhoon Pepeng.

According to lawyer Mike Hosillos, vice president for corporate communications of SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP), which purchased the Ambuklao Dam’s power facility from the government, Pepeng caused the additional siltation to the dam’s underground tunnel, which at that time was still undergoing rehabilitation.

“As planned, the dam’s re-commissioning was supposed to be this year, but damage from Pepeng had caused us to delay this after additional silt had entered its underground tunnels,” he said.

The additional silt came while the Ambuklao Dam, which lies in Bokod town, was undergoing massive rehabilitation and upgrading after incurring serious damage as a result of the 1990 earthquake.   

Nevertheless, executives of SNAP, a Norwegian-Filipino consortium, which now owns the dam’s power plant, said that the dam’s 100-megawatt power facility is expected to be back in full harness by early next year.

The Ambuklao Dam, together with the neighboring Binga Dam’s power component in Itogon town, has been privatized in 2008 after the government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., sold them to SNAP for $325 million.

The re-commissioning of Ambuklao dam, one of the country’s oldest dams, came as demand for power supply and more renewable energy sources continued to increase.

The Ambuklao Dam, whose generation capacity is also being upgraded from 50 megawatts to 105 megawatts, has been shut down since 1999 as a result of damages from the 1990 earthquake.

SNAP, which also acquired the 360-megawatt Magat power plant at the Isabela-Ifugao border, had to shell out some $280 million for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Ambuklao and Binga Dams to ensure the continued supply of power to the Luzon grid.