Cheap hydropower in the Philippines is now dead: government

RP government looks into coal power plant to address power shortage in Mindanao.

Speaking at the Power and Electricity World Asia 2012 held in Singapore, Board of Investments managing head Cristino L. Panlilio said that gone are the days when hydroelectric plants supply most of the power demand of the Mindanao and for some part Visayas.

There are few other power plants in Mindanao, usually diesel facilities built to complement the current hydropower capacity, but statistics from the government show that more than half of the energy in the region are sourced from hydro.

“Cheap hydropower is now dead. Maria Cristina falls, which is the major source of hydropower in most parts of the Mindanao, now has insufficient capacity to supply the demands of a growing population and an expanding economy,” he said adding that the RP government is now actively engaged in seeking investments for coal power plants in the South despite a number of oppositions.

“The public is clamoring against coal-fired power plants but at the mean time, this is one of the viable options that the government is considering to address the looming power crisis in Mindanao,” noted Panlilio.
The government he said is not actively engaged in seeking partnerships with major power firms in the Phillipines like SN Aboitiz.