The San Roque Dam in Pangasinan will not be able to supply power anytime soon, leaving farms without enough source of water come Monday, July 19.
The water level dipped to 225.47 meters above sea level (masl) as of 6 am on Saturday, July 17. (READ: Water level of Pangasinan’s San Roque Dam dips to record low, farms in danger)
Because of this, generation company San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) had to go on an outage.
Water supply for irrigation is also seen to be cut off by Monday, as the re-regulating pond of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) depends on the outflow of the hydroelectric plant.
Farmers rely on the San Roque Dam for irrigation.
“By Monday, inaasahan naming wala nang lalabas sa pond (By Monday, there will be no water coming from the pond),” said engineer Cipriano Yabut of NIA’s Agno-Sinocalan and San Fabian River Irrigation System.
SRPC said it is still unsure when plant operations would resume.
SRPC vice president for corporate affairs Tommy Valdez said that the plant would produce power once the water level rises to satisfactory levels. This, in turn, would refill NIA’s pond to the canals.
Aside from heavy rains, the water level could rise if it receives supply from upstream, from the water released by the Binga and Ambuklao Dams.
The 115-megawatt hydroelectric plant lights up around 75,000 houses.
The dam’s normal high-water level sits at 280 masl. Whenever water reaches critical levels or below 225 masl, plant operations are suspended as turbines could be damaged.
The last time SRPC faced a similar situation was in 2007. – Rappler.com
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