Casecnan Irrigation and Hydroelectric Plant is a dam diverting water from the Casecnan and Taan Rivers to the
Pantabangan Reservoir through a long tunnel located near
Pantabangan
Pantabangan, officially the Municipality of Pantabangan, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 31,763 people.
This is the site of the Pantabangan Dam and Lak ...
and
Muñoz Muñoz ( or ) is a Spanish language, Spanish-language surname—with a Portuguese language, Portuguese-language variant (Munhoz (surname), Munhoz), from Basque "muinoa" (Hill), the surname got expanded during the Reconquista with massive settlements ...
in
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...
province of 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 ...
. The multi-purpose dam provides water for irrigation and
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
power generation while its reservoir affords flood control. It was considered one of the most expensive hydroelectric plants built in the country,
being next only to
San Roque Dam.
The Casecnan Irrigation and Power Generation Project is also located in
Rizal, Nueva Ecija
Rizal, officially the Municipality of Rizal ( ilo, Ili ti Rizal; tl, Bayan ng Rizal) is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 70,196 people.
Rizal is from Ca ...
. The P6.75-B Project provides irrigation to 26,920 hectares of new farms in the Science City of Munoz, Talugtog, Guimba, Cuyapo, and Nampicuan, all of Nueva Ecija. It generates 150 megawatts of power for the Luzon grid that will supply cheap electricity to millions of people in Luzon including Metro Manil
https://web.archive.org/web/20120429230325/http://www.jcmiras.net/surge/p171.htm]
History
In August 1987, former President
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
signed Executive Order 136, which provides for the establishment of a Watershed Forest Reserve out of the Casecnan River. The reserve covered an area of .
[ By May 1993, former President ]Fidel Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
sought out investors to fund the Casecnan Phased Transbasin Project. It became one of the flagship programs of the Ramos government and by 1995, the Casecnan Project got approved for construction.[ In September 2001, former President ]Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
finally opened the diversion tunnel after two years after the Phase I of the Casecnan project was done.[ In 2012, the Aquino government approved the construction of the second phase of the Casecnan project.][
]
Power generation
When the Ramos government approved the start of the Casecnan project, the constructed power plant was planned to have produced 150 megawatts.
Irrigation
The original output for irrigation of Casecnan was the irrigation of around of farmland.[ It currently irrigates in Nueva Ecija and in Pampanga.][ The Aquino government laid seven billion pesos to further enlarge the irrigation capacity of Casecnan which was planned to irrigate an additional of land in Nueva Ecija and another in Pampanga by its completion in 2016.]
See also
* Casecnan Protected Landscape
The Casecnan Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Casecnan River watershed of eastern Luzon in the Philippines. It has a total area of straddling the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora. The Casecnan River Watershed Forest ...
References
External links
Casecnan Irrigation and Power Generation Project
{{Dams in the Philippines
Dams in the Philippines
Hydroelectric power plants in the Philippines
Dams completed in 2002
2002 establishments in the Philippines
Buildings and structures in Nueva Ecija