Napocor completes P275-M rehab of San Roque dam spillway

State-firm National Power Corp. (Napocor) has completed the P275-million rehabilitation of San Roque dam’s spillway area, the state-run power firm said.

It said the rehabilitation program would ensure the integrity of the 200-meter-tall facility on the Agno River in Pangasinan.

The rehabilitation project came after traces of erosion were discovered at the base of the dam’s spillway. Findings revealed that erosions were caused by scouring aggravated by extreme typhoons that hit the dam including Typhoons Ineng and Lando in 2015.

“The rehabilitation project was immediately bid out and implemented in January of last year to avoid further erosion and increased rehab cost. It was substantially completed in the last quarter of 2017, three months ahead of schedule,” Napocor president and CEO Pio Benavidez said in a statement.

Napocor said the total cost of the rehab was split between Napocor-Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC).

SRPC, a joint venture between Marubeni Corp. and Kansai Electric Power Co. Ltd., operates the 435-megawatt (MW) San Roque power plant which started operating in May 2003.

Napocor-PSALM and SRPC ensured the satisfactory condition and integrity of the dam through conduct of separate inspections and assessments.

The San Roque Multi-Purpose Project was constructed in 1995 under the build-operatetransfer (BOT) scheme. It was designed to aid the country in terms of power generation, irrigation, flood control and water quality improvement.

Under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, Napocor and PSALM shall remain responsible for the dam structure and all other structures necessary for its reliable operations.

Further, Napocor-PSALM have an operations and maintenance agreement with private operators of the power plants to cover the dam structures.