CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Electric cooperatives in Mindanao have called on President Aquino to create a multi-sectoral committee to monitor the operation of the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants amid talks that they would be sold to private corporations.
“Our position is not to sell Agus and Pulangi,” said Sergio Dagooc, president of the Mindanao Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Amreco).
Dagooc said the multi-sectoral committee should validate the claim of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) that the hydropower plants are generating power below their capacity.
Amreco has proposed the creation of the Mindanao Power Corp. to operate Agus and Pulangi.
The Agus complex has seven facilities in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte while the Pulangi facility is in Bukidnon.
Mindanao Development Authority chair Lualhati Antonino said she personally checked the power-generation status of both Agus and Pulangi, and found out that it could generate more power, contrary to the claim of the NGCP.
Antonino said the two hydropower plants could generate up to 230 megawatts for the Mindanao and not only 185 mw as NGCP has reported.
Mindanao’s power supply is largely dependent on hydroelectric power, according to NGCP’s 2010 Transmission Development Plan. At least 53 percent or 902 mw of the total 1,697 mw power needs of Mindanao are from hydro resources, it said.