ORMOC CITY – The Leyte V Electric Cooperative, Incorporated (LEYECO V) had its capsule-laying and groundbreaking ceremony for the 2 megawatts (MW) Bao Hydroelectric Power Project located in Brgy. Masarayao, Kananga, Leyte on Friday, March 24, 2023.
After the ceremonial signing of the blueprint, a capsule-laying was done by LEYECO V Board of Directors (BOD) president, Director Emmanuel S. Arpon, together with Isak Jonathan V. Villanueva, the Officer-in-Charge of the Renewable Energy Development Division of the National Electrification Administration (NEA). It was thereafter followed by a groundbreaking ceremony led by LEYECO V General Manager Atty. Janine Ann Dayandayan together with Ormoc City Councilor Lalaine A. Marcos, Kananga, Leyte Vice Mayor Miguel Jorge P. Tan, ECOGEN Renewable Energy Corporation President Renault M. Lao, Meadowland Developers, Inc. President and CEO Michael R. Canete, Villanueva of NEA, and LEYECO V BODs.
Accordingly, the development of the said hydro project aims to address the challenges of energy security, affordability, and access to clean energy as mandated in the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
In addition, additional benefits of the said project include compliance with the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), system loss reduction, power supply resiliency, local job generation, and benefits to the host communities under the Energy Regulations (ER) 1-94 Program, which was enacted to make sure that host communities get a reasonable share of the profit from power plants operating in their area.
The rate impact for this project is projected to be an average of PHP 5.60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the first 11 years from the commencement date and PHP 3.80 per kWh for the succeeding years, and it will also help stabilize the power rate of the cooperative.
Moreover, the aforesaid project is expected to generate a dependable capacity of 2 MW with 14.36 million kWh per year, which will serve the towns of Kananga, Matag-ob, and Ormoc City.
On December 29, 2022, an Omnibus Loan and Security Agreement was signed and entered into by LEYECO V and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), approving the loan for the proposed 2MW Bao Hydro Power Plant project of the cooperative. Accordingly, Barangays Masarayao, Aguiting, and San Ignacio of Kananga, Leyte and Brgy. Nueva Vista, Ormoc City will receive royalty payments from the said project. By Gwen Maurillo (EV Mail March 20-26, 2023 issue)
