Noy hopes to end South's power crisis before 2016

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Aquino expressed hope yesterday that the power crisis in Mindanao would be resolved before his term ends in 2016.

The President likened the power crisis to a “nightmare” that he hopes would be over soon.

Mindanao, which is largely dependent on hydroelectric power, has been experiencing extreme power shortage due to the lack of water supply in its main sources brought about by the long dry spell due to El Niño that struck the country during the first half of the year.

The power crisis in Mindanao has caused considerable damage to the island’s economy, affecting even its agricultural production.

The President arrived here yesterday morning to lead in the inauguration of the 42.5-megawatt Sibulan hydropower project, a greenfield project of AboitizPower Corp. in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur which is seen to make a significant contribution to the Mindanao grid.

Mr. Aquino said his administration would support undertakings such as the Sibulan hydropower project, which involves two cascading run-of-river, hydropower-generating facilities that tap the Sibulan and Baroring rivers with an estimated annual generation of 212 million kilowatt-hours of clean and renewable energy.

The energy produced will be sold to Davao Light and Power Co.

Sibulan is considered to be the first Clean Development Mechanism-registered hydropower project in the country.

AboitizPower’s wholly owned subsidiary Hedcor Sibulan Inc. will operate the hydropower plant.

The generated clean energy from the Sibulan project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 95,000 TCO2e (tons of carbon dioxide equivalents) annually by displacing energy that would have come from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

“The Sibulan hydropower project is a vital greenfield project for Southern Mindanao,” said AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz.

“This responsible choice by Davao Light has a secondary effect of encouraging more investments in renewable generation capacity on the part of investors like AboitizPower,” he added.

Meanwhile, from Sibulan, the President flew by helicopter to Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte where he met with over 3,000 lumad beneficiaries of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The President underscored the importance of projects such as Kalahi-CIDSS aimed at alleviating poverty among indigenous groups in rural areas such as Sto. Tomas town.

Mr. Aquino also met with business leaders in a forum yesterday afternoon at the Marco Polo Hotel here before flying back to Manila.