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THEC’s hydropower plant in Eastern Samar to be operational by yearend
By TED CORDERO,GMA NewsTaft Hydro Energy Corporation’s (THEC) 16-megawatt (MW) hydropower plant in Eastern Samar is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.
THEC is the holder of a hydro service contract from the Department of Energy (DOE) for a hydro resource located in Barangay San Rafael in Taft, Eastern Samar.
In a statement, THEC president Benjie Picardo said that the 16-MW project is currently more than 98% complete - “a record breaker in terms of its construction period of only about 18 months” - and will be ready by the end of the year to provide power in time for the holiday peak demand season.
Picardo said that the project is envisioned to provide power to the island of Samar, which is part of the country’s Tuna Highway.
Unfortunately, the lack of power has constrained investments in cold storage facilities for tuna fishermen to be able to maximize the potential of the tuna industry, he said.
“[T]he project’s major economic multiplier will be the opening of investment opportunities in cold storage, processing plants, and even in tourism,” Picardo added.
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The plant is located only 1.2 kilometers from the National Highway in Eastern Samar and will harness the Taft-Tubig River which drains from the hinterlands of southeastern Samar.
THEC is a project company under Magis Energy Holdings Corporation, a Filipino company set up in 2019 to harness the power of renewable energy sources with the aim of spurring growth in rural communities that have not been given access to power.
Magis Energy is also the owner of Matuno River Development Corporation, the project company responsible for the 8.6MW hydroelectric project in Bamban, Nueva Vizcaya.
About 70% of the project’s workforce were local hires who used to be engaged in illegal logging and coal or uling making, the company said.
A cooperative was also set up to provide meals to the workers and to encourage entrepreneurship especially among the women and mothers in the community, according to THEC. — VBL, GMA News