DAVAO CITY—The run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plants of the Aboitiz Power Co. generated almost 1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy last year, according to the Aboitiz Group.
These are the small hydroelectric power plants operated by the Aboitiz’s subsidiary, Hedcor Inc., which operates a total of 22 plants across the country.
“In 2020, Hedcor recorded an annual generation of 956,514,413 kWh, or 956 GWh [Gigawatt hours]. This is able to power around 400,000 households across the country, year-round,” the Hedcor Inc. said in a statement.
With the new normal caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the things that remained constant was the country’s need for electricity. Serving as the backbone that powers the communities’ various functions, Hedcor, the run-of-river hydro arm of AboitizPower, said it found a bigger responsibility in keeping the lights on.
While the need for power was essential during the pandemic, the Hedcor said it also delivered its lowest incidence of power outages in the last 5 years, citing a technical score of 0.73 percent for 2020 in the so-called Weighted Unplanned Outage Factor (WUOF).
“This emphasizes the steady improvement of Hedcor’s plant reliability as it recorded the lowest number of unexpected shutdowns of its hydropower units in recent memory.”
“While we had to work with a leaner workforce in facility quarantine, we were able to work around the limitations through proper communication, maximization of digital platforms, and simplification of processes,” said Rey Rafael, assistant vice president for operations in Luzon.
Hedcor manages and operates 22 hydropower plants located in Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Benguet, Davao, and Bukidnon. These plants supply the country with 278 megawatts of renewable energy.