CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (March 20, 2026) – Mindanao power consumers expressed fears of experiencing aggravated power rate hikes if the government allows a giant power conglomerate to take over the Agus Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex.
Privatization of power plants resulted in spikes in generation cost that are passed on to electricity consumers.
“Power rates will definitely increase sharply, like what happened in other government generation plants sold to the big power companies,” said Dr. Melchie Ambalong, president of the Mindanao Power Consumers Federation (MINCOPOF).
The veteran campaigner against the privatization of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex (APHC) made these remarks in reaction to the disclosed unsolicited proposal for a joint venture to rehabilitate, operate, and maintain the power complex.
Ideally, she said, the government should retain ownership of the power complex and undertake the rehabilitation of the aging power complex, which earns over P9 billion annually.
However, this option may require amendments to the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), which mandates the government to sell all its power generation assets, except those in small island grids.
“Mindanaoans should have a say on how to rehabilitate the power complex, which was purpose-built by the government to provide the island with clean, affordable, and secure electricity,” said BenCyrus Ellorin, project director of the Consumers for Renewable Energy Action in Mindanao (CREAM).
Noting that further delays in the rehabilitation of the aging power complex risks operating the key power infrastructure to full depreciation or death.
As a public asset, it delivers the most competitive generation rates in the island—approximately P3 per kilowatt-hour, compared to the average blended rate of P6.64/kwh (2024 data) —benefiting household consumers, businesses, and industries.
A disclosure published on the Public-Private Partnership Center website reveals that a consortium of San Miguel Global Power Holdings and Sta. Clara International Corporation has offered to rehabilitate for P69.72 billion and operate the key government power facility through a joint venture.
The island is dependent on imported coal and oil, whose prices are volatile due to world market conditions and geopolitical risks. The current generation mix in the island is 70 percent fossil fuel (coal and petroleum) and 30 percent renewable energy, with hydropower accounting for 22 percent.
The Mindanao Renewable Energy Acceleration and Coordination Hub (MINREACH) gathered Mindanao power stakeholders in a consultation on the rehabilitation of the APHC last March 18 here in the city.
It was participated by MINPOCOF, CREAM, Konsumanteng Kagay-anon, representatives from business and industries, civil society organizations and faith-based organizations.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
Proposals to amend the EPIRA have been filed in several sessions of Congress. In 2024, President Bongbong Marcos reiterated in his State of the Nation Address the need to review the law, but so far, nothing has moved for the amendment of the law that deregulated the power industry.
The privatization of the APHC is a thorny issue in the implementation of the 2001 EPIRA law, which gave a ten-year grace period on the sale of the APHC.
The opposition against the privatization of the Agus Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex hit a high note in 2010, and this eventually led to a decision by President PNoy Aquino in 2012 not to proceed with its sale.
Because of its aging infrastructure, the power plant is only generating around 600MW or just 60% of its installed capacity of 1,001 MW.
The APHPC is composed of six cascading hydroelectric plants powered by Lake Lanao, a 240-square-kilometer lake in Lanao del Sur: Agus 1 is in Marawi City; Agus 2 is in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur; Agus 4 is in Baloi, Lanao del Norte; Agus 5, 6, and 7 are in Iligan City. The oldest of these power plants, the Agus 6 (Maria Cristina Falls) hydroelectric power plant, was commissioned in the early 1950s. The Pulangi IV hydroelectric plant, meanwhile, is in Maramag, Bukidnon.
