A RENEWABLES facility of Aboitiz Power Corp. in Mindanao has to temporarily stop after persistent rains in the past months afflicted its operations.
Hedcor Bukidnon, Inc., one of its renewable energy subsidiaries, decommissioned its 30.9-megawatt (MW) Manolo Fortich Hydro Power Plant 1 unit which is slated for damage repairs, the power company told the stock exchange on Thursday.
Continuous rains since June caused soil saturation, erosion, and mudslides which led to pipe dislocations, pipe bursts, and damage to the high head penstock line in the Bukidnon power plant.
Hedcor Bukidnon continues to operate while it is performing a full assessment of the damages incurred by its generator, as well as its financial impact.
Assuming rainfall would let up by the end of October, Aboitiz Power said the full restoration of the power facility will take “approximately eight months,” or by May next year.
The power plant’s insurance brokers, adjusters, and lenders have been informed about the situation, and “the parties are currently undergoing the process of filing the insurance claims,” it said. “Coordination with other key stakeholders is also ongoing,” it added.
Hedcor Bukidnon, held under Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., the power firm’s clean power unit, runs two hydropower generators, which deliver a combined 68.8 MW of power. The Manolo Fortich Hydro Power Plants 1 and 2 form 5% of Aboitiz Power’s sellable capacity share in the energy market.
Aboitiz Power has a market share of 1,540 MW power, touted as the largest renewable capacity owned by a single entity in the Philippines.
On Thursday, shares in Aboitiz Power rose by 2.5% to close at P26.60 each. — Adam J. Ang
