TWO units of the SN Aboitiz Power Group (SNAP) have signed a deal with the Regional Development Council of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to implement energy-funded projects.
SNAP-Benguet and SNAP-Magat signed a memorandum of agreement with the council for projects under the Energy department’s Energy Regulation No. 1-94, the company said in a statement on Friday.
The regulation wants to ensure that host communities get a reasonable share of the profit from power plants operating in their area.
SNAP said the program gives the host community a one-centavo share for every kilowatt-hour of the total electricity sales of a power generating company.
Half of the share will be used in community electrification. A quarter of the share will be allocated for livelihood programs, while the other 25% will be earmarked for reforestation, watershed management, health, and environment enhancement initiatives.
SNAP is a joint venture of Norwegian company Scatec and Aboitiz Power Corp. It owns and operates the 112.5-megawatt (MW) Ambuklao and 140-MW Binga hydroelectric power plants in Benguet, and the 388-MW Magat hydroelectric power plant on the border of Isabela and Ifugao.
The company also owns and operates the 8.5-MW Maris hydro and the 24-MW Magat battery energy storage facility in Isabela. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
