BOKOD, Benguet – SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet’s Ambuklao and Binga Hydroelectric Power Plants received the Silver Award in the industry category of National Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan (GKK) held by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) recently.
SNAP-Benguet Sr. Manager for SHESQ Hollis Fernandez also received the Gold Award for the individual category.
The annual awards are given by the DOLE in recognition of outstanding achievements of establishments and individuals in responding to safety and health needs of workers, workplaces and communities.
Laywer Mike Hosillos, SNAP Benguet vice president for corporate affairs, said this is the third straight year that SNAP-Benguet has been recognized in the GKK awards, illustrating its excellence in occupational health and safety practices beneficial to the company and its workers.
Representing SNAP-Benguet during the awarding were SNAP Group AVP SHESQ Nomer Reynaldo, CTO Manny Lopez, Ambuklao Sr. SHES Specialist Cliff Dailay, COO Joseph Yu, Hollis Fernandez, Sr. Operations Manager Jo Lachica, OIC-Plant Manager Fernan Tongco, and Binga Sr. SHES Specialist Jessie Palma.
Earlier this year, SNAP-Benguet received three regional GKK awards that qualified them for the national awards.
Among the programs implemented by SNAP-Benguet are the Behavior-Based Safety and the moving water rescue training for community emergency volunteers.
SNAP Benguet operates the 105-megawatt Ambuklao hydroelectric power plant here and the nearby 126-megawatt Binga hydroelectric power plant located in the nearby town of Itogon.
Hosillos said the company was able to reap various awards in different aspects of its operation over the past several years which shows the firm’s strict adherence to the international standards of operating a responsible renewable energy company.
The Ambuklao and Binga power plants were built by the National Power Corporation (NPC) in the early 1950s and 1960s before it was bid out by the national government for their privatization that subsequently resulted to the ward and operation of the power plants to SNAP Benguet to the tune of $325 million, or more or less P8 billion.
SNAP Benguet worked out the rehabilitation of the two power plants to increase the power output of the Ambuklao dam from 75 megawatts to 105 megawatts and the Binga dam from 105 megawatts to more or less 126 megawatts.
Benguet plays host to the operation of the two renewable energy plants which consistently provides sustainable renewable energy to the Luzon grid over the past several years.
SNAP is one of the well-known renewable energy developers in the country maintaining and operating several hydroelectric power plants in the different parts of the country significantly contributing to the sustainable renewable energy supply of the archipelago.
By HENT
