ERC renews permit for AboitizPower unit

Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) said its unit SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc. (SN Aboitiz Power-Magat) has renewed its certificate of compliance from energy regulators, allowing it to continue supplying power to the Luzon grid.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AboitizPower said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) had approved SN Aboitiz Power-Magat’s renewal of the Certificate of Compliance (COCs) concerning its 360-megawatt hydropower plant facilities at the border of Isabela and Ifugao.

The renewed COC covers all four 90-megawatt (MW) units of the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant (Magat HEPP).

The COC, which is valid for five years, signifies Magat HEPP’s compliance with government requirements.

SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, a joint venture between AboitizPower’s subsidiary Aboitiz Renewables Inc. and SN Power Invest Netherlands BV, is the owner and operator of the 360-MW Magat HEPP.

Besides the Magat HEPP, SN Aboitiz Power-Magat is exploring other resources for development.

In October, the company signed a memorandum of agreement with the National irrigation Administration for the construction of an 8.5-megawatt (MW) power station that will use the irrigation water released from the Maris Reservoir for the MARIS (Magat River Irrigation System) Main (South) Canal in Isabela province.

The project is seen to be completed by November 2017.

Used for power generation and flood control, the Magat dam’s primary purpose is to irrigate around 85,000 hectares of agricultural land in Cagayan Valley, mostly in Isabela province.

The Magat hydroelectric power plant is among the largest in Luzon.

Magat HEPP was a state-owned facility until SNAP-Magat took over operations on April 26, 2007.

AboitizPower is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail and power services.