Japanese consultants bullish on Mt. Province hydropower projects

BONTOC, Mt. Province — Japanese consultants are seeing bright prospects in two hydropower projects here which could generate electricity thrice the needs of the province.

The two hydropower projects are located in the Talubin, Bontoc River basin, the first in the upstream portion of Barangay Talubin called the "Talubin site," and the second, further downstream of the village or the "Caneo site."

Both the Talubin and Caneo projects could generate a maximum of 5,400 kilowatts each, according to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) office in Mountain Province.

The two projects have a total capacity of 10,800 kilowatts, or thrice the 3,500-kilowatt electricity consumption of the province.

The PIA said a feasibility study conducted by the Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. Ltd. (TEPSCO) showed that the hydropower projects are economically, technically and environmentally viable, and do not have any significant impact on the natural and social environment.

The PIA added that collaboration between the provincial and municipal officials would make the projects a success.

Gov. Maximo Dalog urged government employees to support the hydropower projects, saying they will not only make the province energy-sufficient, but will also subsequently reduce electricity rates.

Some residents of Barangay Talubin, particularly the elders, however, still have reservations about hydropower development in their community.

In the 70s, local folk rose in arms against the World Bank-funded Chico River Basin dam project, which they believed would wipe out their ancestral lands and eventually their rich cultural heritage. The dam project, which was supposed to extend up to Kalinga, was eventually stopped.

In a meeting with the Provincial Energy Council (PEC) and the Talubin officials and residents, the Japanese consultants, led by Mitsuro Shimizu, TEPSCO’s community development and rural electrification chief, attributed the villagers’ apprehensions on their lack of sufficient understanding and knowledge of the operations of hydropower plants.

To address this concern, the provincial government is planning to conduct a "lakbay-aral," where villagers can visit existing hydropower plants in neighboring Benguet.

The Japanese consultants proposed a channel run-off-river-type generation system, requiring the construction of intake or impounding tanks in both project sites.

This would enable the water to pass through a headrace of 66.24 meters long for the Talubin site and 57.13 meters for the Caneo site to the power plants to generate electricity.

Provincial science and technology officer Norberto Cobaldez, a PEC member, said the hydropower plants, if their proposed development proceeds as scheduled, could be operational by 2010. — Artemio Dumlao