PSALM eyes Agus-Pulangi power plants rehab by 2026

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) is eyeing to start the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Complex (APHC) by 2026.

At a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the agency’s 2024 proposed budget on Friday, president and CEO Edward Dennis dela Serna said PSALM is planning to rehabilitate the hydropower plants in Mindanao through a concession agreement.

Dela Serna said the bidding for the agreement may start next year, with the project estimated to cost a whopping $350 million, according to data from World Bank.

“With regards to the rehabilitation of Agus Pulangi, we have already received an indicative value from the World Bank sometime, I think, two to three years ago, wherein the estimated rehabilitation of Agus Pulangi is about $350 million,” he said.

"The concession plan there is to start the bidding process by 2024, so then we can have the implementation of the rehabilitation by 2026," he added.

Composed of seven run-of-river hydropower plants, the APHC has a total installed capacity of at least 1,000 megawatt (MW), however, PSALM said its actual capacity has plummeted to 400 MW.

Dela Serna said the winning concessionaire will “operate, maintain, and rehabilitate” the power plants, and will be authorized to recuperate the investments they provided for the project.

“There can be two modes of rehabilitation…The actual utilization now is 400 MW. If you can imagine, the installed capacity of those power plants is 1,000 MW so subject to water constraints, there’s a drastic reduction in the utilization of those power plants,” Dela Serna  said.

“There's one mode, bring it back to 1,000 MW subject to hydrology or even uprate the capacity to beyond 1,000 MW,” he added.

Further, the PSALM chief said there is a need to establish proper dam management for the APHC and to conduct siltation on the rivers around it.

“We believe and coming from the Energy secretary himself, there’s a need for a proper dam and proper siltation in those facilities,” dela Serna said.

Asked if the agency had consulted the Bangsamoro government on the rehabilitation project, he answered: “I’ve been attending the TWG meeting with BARMM. I’ve mentioned to them briefly our plans on the need for rehabilitation. But as to the exact details, since I have yet to finalize the overall structure with our consultant ADB, I have yet to discuss the details with BARMM”.

PSALM is an attached agency of the Department of Energy, which is seeking a P2.59 billion budget for the fiscal year of 2024.

On Monday, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. certified as urgent the passage of the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024.

The proposed 2024 national budget is 9.5% higher compared to this year's P5.268 trillion.—AOL, GMA Integrated News