CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Mindanao power consumers fear losing the island’s crown jewel as the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) corporation negotiates with a power conglomerate for the rehabilitation and future operations of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex, the backbone of Mindanao’s electricity.
They consumers fear sharp increases in the generation rate of the APHC which is now selling electricity to distribution utilities at less than P3/ kWh. The generation rate from the power complex which has a dependable capacity of over 800MW would most likely be raised at par with the blended power rate in Mindanao which is currently at around P6.50 per kWh if its operations and maintenance falls into the hands of power monopolies.
The Mindanao Power Consumers Federation (MINPOCOF) has revived the campaign against the privatization of the APHC.
“We are appealing to Mindanao lawmakers to once again unite and rise up against any plan to hand over the Agus Pulangi Hydroelectric Plant to private power conglomerates,” said Dr. Melchie Ambalong, president of the MINPOCOF.
The Joint Congressional Energy Committee should step in now, she added. Because of widespread opposition from Mindanaoans, the privatization of the power complex has been put on hold for over two decades.
Meanwhile, the Consumers for Renewable Energy Action in Mindanao (CREAM) said in a statement that “At this time when the country is on the brink of an economic meltdown because of soaring oil prices, it would be immoral to be even contemplate giving the Agus-Pulangi to the altar of profit.”
“It is imperative for the Agus-Pulangi Hydro Plants to remain a public asset as giving it to the ‘big monies’ in the power sector would re-orient it into a giant profit-making machine,” said CREAM project director BenCyrus Ellorin, of the aging powerplant that has been providing the national government over P9 billion annual revenues.
Current oil crisis has exposed the country’s energy insecurity because of over dependence on expensive imported fossil fuel. “Not only do we need more reliance on renewable energy to increase energy self-sufficiency, government should insulate the country’s renewable energy resources from the interest of profit,” he added.
At the very least, PSALM should consult with Mindanao power stakeholders before it makes any decision on the key government-owned power facility, the CREAM statement said.
Based on disclosures from the Public-Private Parntership Center (PPP Center), the PSALM is negotiating with the consortium of San Miguel Global Power Holdings and Sta. Clara International Corp. for the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex for P69.72 billion.
On April 6, 2026, the PPP Center endorsed a second unsolicited proposal to the PSALM from Greenergy Development Corporation, a renewable energy firm based in Cagayan de Oro City with title: Rehabilitation of the Agus–Pulangi Hydropower Complex with Integration of Innovative Energy Solutions (HED, CEHP, SOPS) for 33.85 billion.
The Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Complex is composed of six cascading hydroelectric plants powered by the Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur and the Pulangi IV Hydroelectric Plant in Maramag, Bukidnon. It has a combined installed generation capacity of 1,001MW.
