Cordi hydro power can supply 27% of RP’s needs

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The Regional Development Council wants Cordillera to play a vital role in the country’s power generation sector by tapping this region’s vast potential for hydro power generation estimated at 3,580 megawatts or 27 percent of the total demand for electricity.

By gaining support from the national government for the rehabilitation of its watersheds and denuded forests, the RDC said the region will increase water storage and river flow to generate enormous amount of energy.

The RDC said this can be done through a strategy of small, mini and micro run-of-river type hydro power generation projects that are not only more socially acceptable to the region’s indigenous peoples but also more environment-friendly.

To establish appropriate links with its valuable watersheds, the region will also focus on agro-forestry production and forest plantation activities to help rehabilitate and regenerate and protect the deteriorating condition of its watersheds so that its optimum use will be maximized for the development of its communities through the promotion of the operation of hydro power plants along its major river systems.

The RDC said the Cordillera, being the watershed cradle of Northern Philippines, will have important backward and forward linkages with environment-friendly wealth creating key focus areas for regional development, specifically the region as a major hydro power producer, greens and ornamental grosser, prime eco-tourist destination and major producer of agricultural products.

Advancing the Cordillera as the watershed cradle of Northern Luzon, the RDC claimed, will enable the region to pursue a sustainable development strategy that is not only sustainable to the region’s fragile environment but it is also attuned to the growing international concern on global warming and climate change.