By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
THE power supply in Cagayan de Oro and parts of Misamis Oriental started receiving a boost with the launch of a new power plant in Villanueva town yesterday.
The P1.1-billion plant, owned by Kirahon Solar Energy Corp., started generating 10 megawatts of solar power at a 15-hectare property in Kirahon, Barangay San Martin in Villanueva town.
Former Energy secretary Vicente Perez Jr., chairman of the Kirahon Solar Energy Corp., and Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vicente Emano led the inauguration of the solar power plant.
Perez said the power plant would generate 10 mw daily without the need for 4.5 million liters of bunker fuel annually.
The new power plant would generate power using 40,720 solar energy panels in the 15-hectare solar farm in Kirahon.
The firm would generate the power for the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco) franchise area from Jasaan, Villanueva, Tagoloan towns in Misamis Oriental to Cagayan de Oro.
Perez said the power generated by the Kirahon Solar Energy Corp. is enough to meet the energy requirements of 23,500 households under the Cepalco franchise area at a relatively cheap price.
He said the Kirahon solar plant is the first phase of the firm’s project here, and that it would soon undertake the construction of another power plant.
Emano welcomed the new power plant, saying this would help boost Misamis Oriental’s and Cagayan de Oro’s economy, and even the local tourism industry.
“Sa atong programa sa turismo, dako kaayo kini ug tabang, ug nakahatag usab kini sa dakong dungog sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental, ” Emano said.
He said there should be more solar power plants because these are environment friendly.
In another development, the the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) yesterday announced that the Agus 1 and Agus 2 138 kilovolt hydro facilities in Lanao del Sur are now back online.
The repair of transmission Tower 25, the main transmission line of the hydro facilities on the Agus-2 Kibawe line in Lanao del Sur has been completed, confirmed Elizaveth Ladaga, a NGCP spokesperson.
She said the restoration of the facility allows the transmission of the electricity produced by state-owned Agus 1 and Agus 2 hydro power plants, with a combined installed capacity of 260mw, to the rest of the Mindanao grid.
Tower 25, located in Ramain, Lanao del Sur, became inoperative when a still unidentified group bombed and toppled the tower a few hours before the Christmas celebration on Dec. 24, 2015.
Ladaga said the repair and restoration were hampered by the refusal of the land claimants belonging to the Sambitory family to allow NGCP access to the tower site.
She said the restoration of Tower 25 started only on March 5 after the court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in favor of NGCP against the Sambitorys. The tower was completely restored on Monday.
In 2015, 19 transmission towers were subjected to attacks. Of these, 16 were toppled or damaged facilities, the NGCP said.
Ladaga said the NGCP has repeatedly warned the public that the bombings transmission towers would aggravate the tenuous power supply situation in the region.
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