SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) is beefing up its hydropower projects, in a bid to further expand its presence in the power sector.
The SMC-controlled Strategic Power Development Corp. (SPDC) will upgrade the capacity of the 345-megawatt (MW) San Roque hydro project in San Manuel, Pangasinan.
This was according to National Power Corp. (Napocor) President Gladys Sta. Maria. “Yes, they want to maximize the present installed capacity [of San Roque hydro] because water levels are insufficient during summer. They want 12 months of maximized capacity.” SPDC trades the electric-power output of the San Roque hydropower plant.
The San Roque hydro plant was designed as a build-operate-transfer project and holds a 25-year power-purchase agreement with Napocor.
SMC won the right to manage the supply contract of the San Roque plant in 2009 with its $450-million bid. SPDC also has pending hydro-service contracts with the Department of Energy for the 20-MW West Upper San Roque Pumped Storage and 10-MW East Upper San Roque Pumped Storage.
It also has plans to put up a 200-MW pumped storage hydro project in Aklan.
Moreover, SMC, according to an industry source, is looking at the possibility of installing up to 3,000 MW of hydropower projects.