Fil-Korean firm to put up P64 billion hydro plant in Benguet

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February 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Filipino-Korean firm Coheco Badeo Corp. is finally pushing ahead with its proposed P64.3-billion pumped-storage hydroelectric (PSH) facility in Benguet, a project long delayed by the pandemic.

The 500-megawatt Kibungan PSH Power Project is planned along the Amburayan River in Kibungan, Benguet, the company said in a filing with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Once operational, Coheco Badeo said, the proposed project is expected to bolster the Luzon grid while supporting the heavy influx of intermittent power.

A PSH facility is a type of energy storage system that can inject power into the grid to boost supply and balance the intermittency of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources like solar and wind.

VREs only generate electricity when the natural resource is available, posing challenges to traditional grids that are not built to handle constant changes in power supply.

In the case of solar, power is produced only when the sun is shining, resulting in overproduction during the day and capacity shortfall at night.

Without the Benguet project, the company warned that the country’s shift to VREs could face challenges, with supply and demand mismatches likely to persist especially during peak periods.

“The pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant’s ability to store large amounts of energy and rapidly respond to fluctuations and the stability that it offers will be lost,” it noted.