Magat Dam plant to boost power generation capacity

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – Amid the increasing demand for electricity, the Magat power plant located along the Isabela-Ifugao border would be enhancing its generation capacity, making it the biggest power contributor among hydropower plants in the Luzon grid.

The SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP), which now owns and operates the Magat Dam’s power facility, said it is now set to conduct a feasibility study for the expansion of its hydroelectric plant’s generation capacity from the present 360 megawatts to 540 MW.

SNAP, a Filipino-Norwegian consortium, acquired the dam’s power facility from the national government for some $350 million in 2007.

The dam’s irrigation component, how­ever, remains under the management of the state-run National Irrigation Administration.

Mike Hosillos, SNAP vice president for corporate communication, said a memorandum of agreement has been signed between their firm and NIA for the conduct of the feasibility study, also aimed at ensuring Magat Dam’s continued supply of power even during a dry spell.   

“The (agreement) facilitates the gathering of information to determine the feasibility of expanding the capacity of the Magat plant for an additional 90 MW up to 180 MW,” he said

The study, Hosillos said, also includes the installation of a pumped-storage system where water stored in an upper reservoir is released to a lower reservoir through the penstock when power from the plant is needed.

“(But) when demand for electricity is low, the turbines spin backward and pump the water back up into the upper reservoir, enabling more efficient water use,” he said.

Once Asia’s biggest hydroelectric dam, the more than three-decade-old Magat Dam also provides irrigation to some 70,000 hectares of farmlands in Isabela, the country’s leading corn- and rice-producing province.

At the height of the El Niño weather phenomenon last summer, the Magat power plant had to temporarily stop operating due to low water level in its reservoir, also forcing the NIA to resort to water rationing.