By Myrna M. Velasco State-run National Power Corporation (NPC) has already completed rehabilitation works at the spillway area of the San Roque dam in Pangasinan, a facility yielding 435-megawatt power capacity to the Luzon grid. The power company said the completion of that rehab work will guarantee “the integrity of the 200-meter tall facility,” which straddles the Agno River in the northern part of the country. The cost of the project, according to NPC, was at R275 million.  The decision to pursue it was arrived at “after traces of erosions were discovered at the base of the dam’s spillway,” the power firm stressed. Investment in the restoration work at the dam, it was further noted, was split accordingly between NPC, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (NPC) and plant operator San Roque Power Corporation. NPC emphasized that based on their findings, “erosions were caused by scouring which was aggravated by extreme typhoons that hit the dam” in previous years – primarily those of typhoons Ineng and Lando. As noted by NPC President and Chief Executive Officer Pio J. Benavidez, “the rehabilitation project was immediately bid out and implemented in January of last year to avoid further erosion and increased rehab cost.” If culled from the company’s timeframe on the work program, Benavidez pointed out that they were able to top it, as completion was achieved three months ahead of schedule – that was in the last quarter of 2017. It has been emphasized that the relevant entities in the San Roque hydropower complex’s operations “ensure the satisfactory condition and integrity of the dam through conduct of separate inspection and assessments.” The San Roque project serves three functions in meeting the country’s need for water quality improvement, flood control and irrigation as well as electricity generation. It was undertaken through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme and had started delivering power to Luzon grid in 2003. And in line with the privatization of NPC power assets prescribed under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), its power supply contract had eventually been placed under the charge of San Miguel Energy Corporation’s subsidiary as Independent Power Producer Administrator.