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Dupinga Mini Hydro Corp. (DMHC) clinched a contract to supply renewable energy to an electric cooperative in Nueva Ecija starting early 2024.
Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative Inc. – Area 2 (NEECO II – Area 2) signed a power supply agreement with DMHC, a partnership between renewable energy player Alternergy Holdings Corp. and Markham Resources Corp. led by Francisco Tiu Laurel of the Frabelle Group.
Electricity will come from DMHC’s 4.6-megawatt Dupinga Mini Hydropower Project in Gabaldon town which Alternergy and Markham Resources are jointly developing. It is scheduled for completion in early 2024, when the power supply agreement will also take effect.
DMHC and NEECO II Area 2 will submit within the month a joint application to the Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval of the supply deal.
DMHC vice president Annette Rafael said the Dupinga Project would improve supply reliability and quality of power in Gabaldon and other nearby municipalities which are at the tail-end of NEECO II Area 2 distribution system.
“As an embedded power plant, the Dupinga Project is also expected to generate savings for NEECO II Area 2 customers through avoided transmission fees and zero-VAT (value-added tax) on the purchased power,” said Alternergy.
“As a renewable power supply with no fuel charges, power from the Dupinga Project is competitively-priced compared to the rates of other power suppliers of NEECO II Area 2 , which are mostly from coal power plants and are exposed to fuel price increases,” it added.
In July, DMHC secured P660 million in funding from Development Bank of the Philippines through the state-run lender’s Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development program. The program aims to help increase the population’s access to electricity services through financing of utility-scale energy generation projects.
The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded in 2010 the hydropower service contract for Dupinga. In 2017, the right to further develop the project and utilize the hydro resource was transferred to DMHC.
“The present administration’s eagerness to increase the sources of renewable energy inspires us, and it revives our hopes to continue the journey in figuring out how we can make our power supply more sustainable to defeat the threats of frequent power outage,” NEECO II Area 2 general manager Ramon de Vera.
The Dupinga Project forms part of Alternergy’s goal of building 1,245 MW of renewable energy capacity in the next five years.