KAPANGAN, Benguet – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) provided a slot in its existing tapping point in Bacnotan, La Union to the Cordillera Hydroelectric Power Corporation (COHECO) to allow the same to provide the grid with renewable energy once its proposed 60-megawatt run-of-river hydro project will be operational in the next four and a half years.
COHECO, a Filipino-owned local power corporation, is the only new hydro power generator that has been provided a slot by the NGCP so that it could infuse to the grid the renewable energy that it will produce as the State-run transmission company is undergoing the required upgrading of its facilities in the area to cater to the increasing demand for power.
COHECO is currently working on the initial stages of the construction of its proposed 60-megawatt hydro project along the Amburayan River which is expected to be completed in the next 4 years.
Originally, COHECO was partially owned by a Korean businessman before it was reportedly sold to its Filipino owner who respected the provisions of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that was signed by the affected indigenous peoples (IPs) and the power generation company.
COHECO officials welcomed the decision of the NGCP to provide the company with a slot in its tapping point in Bacnotan, La Union because it only shows that it will be able to directly sell to the grid the renewable energy that it will be able to produce considering that it was able to pass the stringent standards of the NGCP in ascertaining which among the renewable power generation companies will be allowed to have a slot in its designated tapping point.
By HENT
