Parts of Mt. Province lose power after armed men attack hydro plant

BAGUIO CITY – Armed men attacked the 14-Megawatt Sabangan Hydroelectric Power Plant on Tuesday night in the Mountain Province town of Bauko, disrupting the electricity supply of the whole province, a councilor of Sabangan town said on Wednesday.

Councilor Ricky Samidan said the security guards stationed at the plant were unharmed, after the group attacked at 10:30 p.m. The armed men seized the guards’ weapons.

The power plant is operated by the Hydroelectric Power Corp. (Hedcor), a subsidiary of the Aboitiz Power Corporation.

Power in many parts of the province has not been restored at press time.

In a statement, Hedcor said the unidentified group blasted the control room of the plant’s tapping point in Otucan Norte village.

Hedcor said 90 percent of their equipment were damaged but promised to restore plant operations soon.

The company said it has been cooperating with the police and Armed Forces of the Philippines which have started a joint probe on the attack.

The Sabangan power plant was constructed in 2013, and started operating in 2015.