Ambuklao Dam is part of a hydroelectric facility in Baragay Ambuclao,

Bokod, Benguet Bokod, officially the Municipality of Bokod, ( ilo, Ili ti Bokod; tl, Bayan ng Bokod), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 14,435 people. History Pre-colo ...

province in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. With a maximum water storage capacity of , the facility, which is located from

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

city, can produce up to 105

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s of electricity to the

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

grid. The main source of water comes from the

Agno River The Agno River, or Pangasinan River, is a river in the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. Traversing the provinces of Baguio and Pangasinan, it is one of the largest river systems in the country, with a drainage area of . The river originate ...

, which originates from Mount Data. The dam is located in a conservation area known as the Upper Agno River Basin Resource Reserve. The dam and other non-power components are owned by the government through the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). The name of the dam is also used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is a privately owned corporation that was created on January 15, 2009, through RA 9511. It is a consortium of three corporations, namely Monte Oro Grid Resources Corporation, Calaca High Po ...

(NGCP) power lines and their associated poles and towers.

Ambuklao Hydro

The Ambuklao Hydroelectric Power Plant is one of the oldest power plants in the country and was among the first large hydroelectric power plants constructed in the Philippines. The development of the

for purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control, and irrigation had been conceived as early as the late 1940s. Preliminary investigations for development at the Ambuklao and Binga Dam sites were undertaken as early as January 1948. Running along the upper portion of the Agno River, Ambuklao Hydro was constructed for power generation and flood control. In July 1990, a massive earthquake hit Luzon, resulting in siltation and technical problems that affected the plant's operations. Ambuklao was eventually decommissioned in 1999. On November 28, 2007, SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet, Inc. (SNAP-Benguet) won the public bid for Ambuklao and its neighboring power facility Binga, which were sold as a package under the power sector privatization program of the Philippine government. SNAP-Benguet is a joint venture between SN Power of Norway and Aboitiz Power Corporation. SNAP-Benguet began a massive rehabilitation project that restored Ambuklao to operating status and increased its capacity from 75 MW to 105 MW. The project required the construction of a new intake, headrace and penstock, elevation of tailrace tunnel outlet, de-silting of tailrace tunnel and replacement of electro-mechanical components. In June 2011, Unit 3 became the first turbine unit to go on-line, followed by the other two units. Ambuklao was formally inaugurated in October 2011. Ambuklao is designed as a peaking plant and is capable of delivering energy and providing ancillary services needed to stabilize the grid.

References

{{Authority control Dams completed in 1956 Buildings and structures in Benguet Dams in the Philippines