To get more insight on the Power production in Mindanao the EPs are visiting several power plants in Davao City and the area close to Davao City. The first power plant visited was a small hydroelectric plant in Barangay Mintal owned by Hedcor. Hedcor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the AboitizPower Corporation. It specializes in generating renewable energy from run-of-river hydropower systems. The EPs were welcomed at the Barangay Hall by the Barangay captain Ramon Bargamento, who told something about the history of the Barangay and the hydroelectric power plant.
Even though the power plant is relatively small (approximately 600 kW) it usually provides all the necessary electricity for the Barangay Mintal. Originally constructed by the Japanese community before the second world war, the power plant has been providing residents with electricity for many years. The original turbines installed by the Japanese are no longer used, but the original channel built to guide a part of the river towards the power plant is still in use today.
The channel guides the river water to a reservoir where multiple filters are used to remove the trash and waste from the stream. There is usually someone present to manually clean out the filters and dump everything that's stuck in the filters next to the stream. The large piles of leaves and other trash can be seen on the side of some of the pictures.
The water from the reservoir is then used to drive three turbines to generate power.
Finally the electricity is fed to the power grid and transported to the Barangay through power lines.
This concluded the tour of the Mintal hydroelectric power plant. The following is a picture of the EPs, the friendly tour guide, and the UNPLUG project manager Kate Dublin in front of the power plant building.
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