Baguio rejects P1.27-B bid to revive historic hydropower plants

FILE / Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s official facebook page

BAGUIO CITY—The city council rejected another public-private partnership (PPP) proposal, this time a P1.27-billion bid to rehabilitate and modernize the city’s American-era hydroelectric power plants in neighboring Tuba, Benguet.

The council acted on the proposal ahead of the July 17 deadline under PPP Center rules. Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan announced the rejection during the council’s regular session on Monday, following a closed-door meeting with Mayor Benjamin Magalong earlier in the day.

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Councilor Peter Fianza, a lawyer and former city administrator, said the committee on public utilities, transportation and traffic legislation found that the proposed rehabilitation deviated from the original project by incorporating operational components outside Baguio’s property and within the jurisdiction of Tuba.

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Because of these changes, the committee concluded that the proposal should instead be submitted to the Tuba local government, according to Councilor Fred Bagbagen, the committee chair.

The decision surprised representatives of project proponent Repower Energy Development Corp., led by chief operating officer Johnson Sanhi Jr., who attended the session.

Company officials said they were not given the opportunity to clarify what they described as a misunderstanding involving minor realignments of pipelines and wires needed to address engineering constraints.

Minor realignments

Repower said its subsidiary, Baguio Asin Hydro Electric Corp., had been negotiating with the city government for the past two years and had already secured key permits, including hydropower service contracts issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) after applying in 2023.

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The rejection marks the second major PPP proposal turned down by the city council. Last year, it rejected a smart mobility project proposed by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. that included traffic management measures and a controversial congestion fee for vehicles entering Baguio’s central business district during peak hours.

Another high-profile proposal—the modernization of the Baguio City Public Market by SM Prime Holdings—was eventually withdrawn after drawing strong public opposition.

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Of the six unsolicited PPP proposals submitted to the city since 2019, only the integrated bus terminal project proposed by Megawide Construction Corp. has secured city council approval. Approved in 2025, the project is expected to rise along Marcos Highway near the Baguio-Tuba boundary.

Repower’s proposal sought to increase the generating capacity of the Asin hydroelectric plants from 4.3 megawatts (MW) to 9.4 MW.

Fianza said the company may still file a motion for reconsideration to address issues identified by the council, including a DOE communication to the Tuba municipal government indicating that the hydropower service contracts granted to Repower were intended for new facilities rather than the rehabilitation of the three existing Asin hydroelectric plants built between 1921 and 1936 under former Baguio Mayor Eusebius Halsema.

The Asin hydropower plants have been idle since 2012 after changes in energy regulations required Baguio to secure new permits before resuming operations.

Fianza added that the city had earlier conducted an inventory of landowners surrounding the hydroelectric facilities following concerns raised by indigenous residents of Tuba over land and water rights.

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He said the landowners identified by the city differed from those with whom Repower had been dealing with because portions of the revised project extended into areas solely under Tuba’s jurisdiction.