Group calls for closure of Kepco power plants

CEBU, Philippines -  The Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu is calling for the closure of the Visayas Baseload Power Project or the Kepco-SPC coal plants in Naga City, Cebu.

 The call was made after the board of the Asian Development Bank adopted the recommendations of their Compliance Review Panel that ADB itself is faulted for multiple violations of its own policies in funding the said power plant.

 “The Kepco-SPC coal power plants have to close pending investigations. The said power plant committed serious violations of the rules and policies of ADB,” said FDC-Cebu secretary general Jose Aaron Pedrosa.

 FDC-Cebu  claimed that the project would result in adverse impacts on the health of residents and nearby communities due to emissions of gases that could cause respiratory illnesses; spillage of coal during transport exposing residents to hazardous, toxic metallic elements; and seepage from the Balili coal ash dumpsite that  could contaminate marine life for human consumption. 

 Pedrosa said that the findings of the review panel is a vindication for the affected people in Naga and a slap not only on ADB but also to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III who inaugurated the project and defended it for complying with the Philippine Clean Air Act.

 Pedrosa said that ADB officials who approved the $120-million loan to Kepco-SPC should also be held accountable together with the Cebu provincial government and the city government of Naga. 

 Based on the compliance review conducted, the panel concluded that there was non-compliance with policies on environment, public communications, and social dimensions in ADB operations. 

 The panel also concluded that the project was not fully compliant with the Energy Policy. 

 The panel stated that ADB had not properly conducted rigorous, comprehensive due diligence on ash management when the project went to the Board for approval; it did not recognize community concerns about the project’s potentially negative impacts on health and did not require a mitigation plan to ensure that communities were fully informed about preventive and safety measures to reduce them.

 Although the choice of clean coal technology can be justified under the Energy Policy, ADB did not exercise rigorous due diligence in complying with its environmental and social safeguards as required, among others.

 In line with these violations, the panel recommended the following for ADB, among which is to undertake a comprehensive air dispersion modeling study that includes the key pollution sources in the project’s area of influence and validate its predictions with actual air emissions and ambient air quality monitoring data. 

 They also recommended to implement a community outreach program focusing on preventing negative health impacts from air, water, and noise pollution and potentially negative impacts from exposure to unprotected coal ash deposits.

This private sector investment project is the first collaboration between ADB and the Korean Export-Import Bank.  A direct loan of up to $120 million was provided to the Korea Electric Power Corp. /SPC Power Corp. KSPC is 60 percent owned by the Korea Electric Power Corp. Philippine Holdings, Inc. and 40 percent owned by SPC, both Philippine corporations. (FREEMAN)