2010 Annual Report - Aboitiz Equity Ventures

featureThe lasting allure of hydro plantsFor one who enjoys the hum of machinery inside built-to-last structures constructed ages ago,nothing can equal the thrill of walking into a hydroelectric power station, with the mesmerizingroar getting increasingly louder. The sight of solid steel turbines, made even more impressiveby a venerable pedigree in their casing, perhaps fabricated in Basel, Switzerland in 1915 orPhiladelphia, PA in 1934, holds one in awe. How could something made almost a century agostill be working? And how could it still manage to look so good?AmpohawThis love affair with hydros is what drives Rene Ronquillo, president and chief operating officerof AboitizPower wholly-owned unit Hedcor, Inc., to build even more plants than the 17 hecurrently has in his stable. These are scattered across Benguet in Northern Luzon and Davaoin Southern Mindanao. “Hydros have little impact to the environment. Moreover, hydropowerplants help the host communities in a major way.”Asin 1While the use of hydropower for generating electricity started in the 1880s in the UnitedStates, it wasn’t until the 1920s that the technology found its way to the Philippines. Althoughit is no longer in use, the Arsenio Escudero Hydroelectric Power Plant still stands today at VillaEscudero in Laguna, with its birth year proudly emblazoned on the powerhouse: 1937. TheAsin 1, 2, and 3 power plants in La Trinidad, Benguet, which Aboitiz was operating until thesewere turned over to the City of Baguio in December 2006, were built in the 1920s by the U.S.Army.Asin 2If it isn’t the technical aspect, or longevity, of a hydro that gets one hooked, it is the mannerit generates electricity that does. Hydros can be built relatively quickly, with smaller plantsunder 10 megawatts (MW) built in between 9 to 16 months. The effect on the surroundingecosystem and community is minimal, as there is no dam for impounding vast quantities ofwater and in its place is a small weir, which simply regulates water flow. Water is not used; itis simply run through a turbine and returned back to the river downstream from the powerstation. And the plants can do this for many years.Asin 3Bineng 2bHydros can be built relatively quickly, with smallerplants under 10 megawatts built in between9 to 16 months. The effect on the surroundingecosystem and community is minimal, as there is nodam for impounding vast quantities of water and in itsplace is a small weir, which simply regulates water flow.44Aboitiz Power Corporation