The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that 10 companies and 14 projects have passed pre-qualification for the country’s first mid-merit natural gas capacity auction, clearing the way for actual bidding soon.
Released on Wednesday, the September 30 DOE advisory listed qualified bidders and their respective projects:
Panasia Energy Inc. — Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant; Therma Cebu Gas-To-Power Inc. — Toledo Gas-Fired Power Plant Project; First Natgas Power Corp. — 420 MW San Gabriel Combined Cycle Power Plant; Quezon Power Inc. — Combined Cycle Gas-Fired Turbine San Francisco Power Plant; First Gen Ecopower Solutions Inc. — 600 MW Sta. Maria Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Power Plant; First Gas Power Corp. — 1,000 MW Sta. Rita Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Power Plant; FGP Corp. — 500 MW San Lorenzo Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Power Plant; and Vires Energy Corp. — Vires Natural Gas Power Project.
Cordova Power Generation Corp. qualified with three projects: Panay Gas Power Plant, Cebu Gas Power Plant, and Luzon Gas Power Plant. Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) also secured pre-qualification for three plants: EERI Visayas Plant, Iloilo Combined Cycle Power Plant, and Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plant Phase 2.
A virtual pre-bid conference will be held within October for all participants, the DOE confirmed. The auction targets a total of 3,840 megawatts of new mid-merit capacity to strengthen grid stability, particularly backing up variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind that fluctuate throughout the day.
Mid-merit plants fill the gap between steady baseload facilities and quick-response peaking units — they can ramp output up or down to match shifting electricity demand. As of end-July 2026, the Philippines had 5,090 MW of installed natural gas capacity, representing about 15.9 percent of the country’s total 32,109 MW capacity.
