Water supply assured amid Angat hydro power facility rehab

MANILA  -The 61-day total shutdown of the 218-megawatt (MW) Angat hydroelectric power plant (AHPP) for investigation work will have no effect on water supply for domestic and irrigation use, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

In an interview, MWSS spokesperson Patrick Dizon explained that his office had crafted guidelines with concessionaires on the use of a spillway and low-level outlets to transport water from Angat dam, which supplies 90 percent of raw water for Metro Manila and nearby provinces, as well as for 24,000 hectares of farmland.

Angat Hydropower Corp. (AHC), the operator of the power plant, is set to assess its main penstock from Nov. 6 until Jan. 6, 2024 as part of its modernization project.

Actual rehabilitation work is expected to start next year after assessments, Dizon said.

The main penstock, a 475-meter pipeline, is used to transport raw water from Angat dam in Bulacan province to the Ipo and La Mesa dams.

Water coming from Angat — estimated at 4,000 million liters per day — flows to the La Mesa and Ipo dams to help deliver supply to customers through concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc.

“[AHC] can’t use the main penstock to give us water so alternately, we will use the spillway and low-level outlet for our farmers and domestic supply. Within two years, MWSS rehabilitated the low-level outlet and replaced the bulbs to ensure that these will work during the total plant shutdown,” Dizon said. INQ