Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Braga: Cancellation of mini-hydro, 'worrisome'
CITY Council Energy Committee Chair Pilar Braga said Hedcor's cancellation of one of three mini-hydro power plants it proposed to build in the city's third district is indeed "worrisome."
"Hedcor has not formally notified the SP. The withdrawal is worrisome considering we need additional power supply for 2010," Braga said.
"We just went through a lot of waste of time, effort and money through public hearings and ocular inspection only for Hedcor to withdraw but I am sure they must have a good reason for doing so," he added.
Braga, however, admitted this could pose a big problem with regards to the energy plan the city is crafting. This is aimed at making the city energy-sufficient and efficient for the coming years.
In earlier reports, Hedcor cited delays in the project for the cancellation.
According to Councilor Peter Laviña, Hedcor president Rene Ronquillo was quoted by a national paper to have said that Hedcor Board has decided to scrap the Suawan plant, part of the 34.5 megawatt Tamugan-Panigan-Suawan hydropower project estimated to cost P7 billion.
"The reason for the delay is the opposition of the local water utility, Davao City Water District. The delay is already two years. For us lay people, the dispute is easily resolvable as it pertains mainly on elevation, where water would be tapped by either Hedcor or DCWD, and not on a fundamental issue on the use or misuse of water resources. Technical solutions can certainly fix the problem and both parties have plenty of good engineers," Laviña said.
Laviña fears further delays might push Hedcor to also scrap the building of the two remaining plants that are expected to meet local energy shortage by 2010.
"If the water utility continues to dilly dally, here's what I see in the future. Two years down the road, the water district will have to fend off public anger due to poor water service and the dreaded brownouts. Yup, I would squarely put the blame on DCWD if the city suffer from power shortages starting in 2010," Laviña said. (GLP)
