SAN MANUEL – Three years after its construction, the 330-megawatt San Roque Hydro-electric Power Dam in Pangasinan can now be harnessed to its full capacity.

This was seen with the completion of the multi-million peso 230-Kilovolt transmission line in the area by Marubeni Corporation for the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo).

TransCo President, Dr. Alan Ortiz, switched on the power line in a ceremony here Tuesday that dispatched all the 330 megawatt produced by San Roque to the Luzon grid.

With the switch-on of the facility, the San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC), which operates the hydroelectric dam, can now operate its three generators to produce renewable hydro power, Ortiz said.

Marubeni, one of the part-owners of San Roque, built the project at its own expense when the winning bidder as well as the second winning bidder backed out because of the abrupt escalation in the cost of materials world-wide.

He said before the completion of the 230 kilovolt transmission line, San Roque was generating only from 60 to 80 percent of its full capacity of 330 megawatts.
The rated capacity of San Roque is 330 megawatts but they usually ran it at 60 percent, 70 percent and 80 percent of its full capacity, Ortiz explained.

He believes that since it is rainy season in the northern part of the province, San Roque is now generating power is full.

Ortiz admitted that although there is 3,000 megawatt surplus of the Luzon grid at this time, “this is not yet at a level that we wanted it to be”.

“With San Roque being fully operational and its power fully dispatchable, we have more confidence now that we can have more reliable surplus,” he said.

Ortiz added that instead of running on expensive diesel plants or coal-fired plants, TransCo can dispatch hydro power from San Roque.

He pointed out that since it is hydro power that San Roque produces, the cost of electricity to consumers is minimal.

“Since it is hydro power, it should be more cost-effective than diesel or coal-fired plants,” he stressed. (PNA)