Zamora group to build hydropower plant tapping Lake Mainit in Agusan del Norte

By: Euan Paulo C. Anonuevo, InterAksyon.com

November 7, 2012 2:48 PM

MANILA - Zamora-led Tranzen Group Inc will put up a hydroelectric power plant in Agusan del Norte that will harness water flowing to Lake Mainit.

In a regulatory filing, Tranzen subsidiary Agusan Power Corp said it will construct a 25-megawatt hydro plant in the municipality of Jabonga.

The project is estimated to cost P3.7 billion, which will be funded through 40 percent equity and 60 percent debt.

The power facility, which is scheduled for completion by 2015, will use Lake Mainit as a natural reservoir to generate electricity, thus requiring no dam.

As such, the project will "reduce the magnitude and frequency of seasonal flooding during periods of rainfall," the company said. 

Agusan Power said flooding in Lake Mainit affects over 60,000 hectares of commercial, industrial and agricultural land, leading to economic losses worth almost P1 billion a year.
The company, along with Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc (Aneco), has sought Energy Regulatory Commission approval of a 25-year supply deal. The cooperative will source electricity from the proposed plant at a rate of P6.64 per kilowatt-hour.

"If Aneco were to procure its power requirements from the [Agusan Power] plant [by 2015] under the [power purchase agreement], a reduction in the average blended costs will be felt immediately, more so in the long term. By 2040, this would mean savings of P4.28 per kilowatt-hour," the two said in their joint application. 

Agusan Power submitted the lowest bid for electricity supply that Aneco earlier conducted. Mindanao is suffering from insufficient generating capacity that has resulted in persistent power outages for much of the year.

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