THE NATIONAL Irrigation Administration (NIA) said it transferred 60% of a P33.75 billion irrigation and power project to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
The Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) will be a trans-basin tunnel across the Caraballo Mountain range with a capacity of 80 cubic meters per second (m3/s) diverting water to the Pantabangan Reservoir.
The project will also include two diversion weirs in the Casecnan and Taan Rivers in Nueva Vizcaya, where access roads will connect local and provincial networks.
Under the agreement, PSALM will have the authority to operate, manage, and maintain CMIPP’s facilities, such as weather stations and access roads, until its eventual privatization.
Both entities are responsible for maintaining the facility, but PSALM will solely be responsible for selling, trading and allocating the net energy generated to its customers and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) until privatization is complete.
Both parties will share revenue and expenses according to their ownership stakes. — Lucia Maria Jacinta C. Jocson