Taft Hydro Energy Corp. (THEC), holder of a hydro service contract from the Department of Energy for a hydro resource in Eastern Samar, expects commercial operation of its 16 megawatt (MW) hydropower project to start before the end of the year.
It announced over the weekend that the project is currently more than 98 percent complete and will be ready by the end of the year to provide power in time for the holiday peak demand season.
THEC President Benjie Picardo said the schedule is said to be “a record breaker in terms of its construction period of only about 18 months.”
Picardo added 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.
With THEC, “the project’s major economic multiplier will be the opening of investment opportunities in cold storage, processing plants, and even in tourism,” Picardo added.
The hydropower facility is 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.
Currently, the project has been able to implement tree-planting projects to support the integrity of the watershed area. THEC has already planted 3000 tree saplings at the Samar Island Natural Park and is committed to plant a total of 500,000 trees for the life of the project. Also, more than 726 laborers or about 70 percent of its workforce were local hires.
THEC is a project company under Magis Energy Holdings Corp.