SN Power’s Ambuklao project demonstrates solid HSE records

27-4-2010

The rehabilitation project of Ambuklao hydropower plant in Luzon, the Philippines, has reached 2.1 million work-hours without LTI (Lost Time Injury). The project currently employs more than 750 people and is scheduled to be commissioned end-2010 having increased Ambuklao’s generating capacity from 75MW to 105MW.

SN Power, through its joint venture company with local partner the Aboitiz Group, is rehabilitating Ambuklao and Binga hydropower plants in Luzon, the Philippines, which the company acquired in 2008.
  
The 75 MW Ambuklao and 100 MW Binga, located directly downstream of Ambuklao, are among the oldest hydropower plants in the Philippines, commissioned by the Philippines’ National Power Corporation in the late 1950s. Ambuklao has not been operational since 1999 due to damage suffered in a major earthquake in 1990. After full-scale rehabilitation is scheduled to finish in 2010 and 2013 for Ambuklao and Binga respectively, the combined capacity will increase to 225 MW.
  
The Ambuklao rehabilitation will bring the hydropower plant up to international standards. But upgrade work is challenging due to the plant’s complex conditions, and focus on HSE is fundamental.
  
“Rehabilitation and upgrade of the Ambuklao plant already has significant positive impact on the region as a source of work opportunities for the local population," explains Erik Knive, Executive Vice President SN Power Southeast Asia. “Being a catalyst for building a solid HSE culture is something we take very seriously. Having reached more than 2 million LTI work-hours is no small achievement for the Ambuklao project team, considering the complex conditions they are handling.”
  
The rehabilitation projects of Ambuklao and Binga are also in the final verification stages to be registered as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) approved projects under the Kyoto Protocol.