A RENEWABLES unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. has remitted a total of P20.1 million of its electrification shares to its host local government units to aid in their pandemic response.
In a statement on Monday, the power firm said Hedcor, Inc., which operates a run-of-river hydropower plant in northern Luzon and Mindanao, relayed the amount under the Energy Regulations (ER) 1-94, which sets aside for host communities a one centavo per kilowatt-hour take from total electricity sales.
The fund will benefit over 12 barangays, four cities, and municipalities in Mindanao, as well as the provinces of Davao del Sur and Bukidnon. It will also be utilized by some barangays in Benguet, Mt. Province, and Ilocos Sur.
The Department of Energy (DoE) in April ordered the use of the electrification funds for the COVID-19 response of local governments, including the procurement of testing kits and medical supplies. This is done in compliance with Republic Act. No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Law.
Meanwhile, AboitizPower said in a stock exchange disclosure that the fine imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Pollution Adjudication Board against Hedcor over its alleged pollution of Chico River had already been settled.
The pollution board had found the power company to have illegally dumped soil in the river system during the construction of its Sabangan, Mt. Province hydro-electric power plant.
Hedcor’s contractor Sta. Clara International paid the P200,000 fine for the alleged violation of Republic Act No. 9275 or the Clean Water Act, fulfilling its contractual obligation and liability for the “care of water” during the construction of the plant.
Hedcor and Hedcor Sabangan, Inc. are both owned by Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., a holding company of AboitizPower for its renewable energy portfolio. — Adam J. Ang
