THE Baguio City Government will reach out to Tuba municipal officials in order to come up with a "win-win" solution for the revival of the city-owned Asin mini-hydro power plants.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan scheduled several meetings between city and Tuba officials previously but did not push through because of conflicting schedules.
“We have to continue the dialogue with Tuba officials for us to be able to come out with possible win-win solutions to the current issues and concerns surrounding the revival of the operation of the Asin mini-hydro power plants. We have to listen to them and we will discuss the issues for us to be able to come out with solutions in the end,” Domogan said.
The Tuba Municipal Council passed Resolution No. 34, series of 2016 supporting the opposition of the affected communities to the transfer of water permits from the Baguio Water District (BWD) to the City of Baguio and the intended revival of the operation of the Asin hydro power plants.
The same resolution urged the Department of Energy (DOE) not to issue any permit to the City of Baguio, or to any entity for the renewed operation of the Asin hydro power plants located within Tuba and to cancel the mini-hydro operating contract granted to Hedcor Inc. for the Asin power plants.
It can be recalled that the City Government bidded out the privatization of the Asin mini-hydro power plants which it awarded to Kaltimex Energy Philippines.
But the contract for the eventual operation of the power plants is still pending confirmation before the City Council.
Domogan said he will continue to initiate the upcoming dialogue in the coming weeks so that issues and concerns being raised against the renewed operation of the city-owned power plants will immediately be addressed.
Domogan said this is to prevent future complications on the matters raised by Tuba officials once the power plants will start their operations upon confirmation of the contract.
The city-owned three Asin mini-hydro power plants are situated in barangays Tadiangan and Nangalisan in Tuba.
Hedcor assumed the operation of the Asin mini-hydro power plants by virtue of a reported sub-contract agreement between the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and the former.
In 1981, Davao Light entered into an agreement with the Baguio Water District (BWD) to operate and maintain the Asin mini-hydro power plants but the contract expired in 2006.
The City Government then took over the operation and maintenance of the Asin mini-hydro power plants but the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered the local government to cease and desist from operating the power plants because it did not possess the required certificate of compliance from the regulatory body to operate the said power plants.
It was learned the mini-hydro operating contract granted to Hedcor will expire on May 20, 2018. (Baguio City PIO/Sunnex)