First Gen Corp., the listed power generation arm of the Lopez Group, said Monday the government has formally handed over to its unit, Fresh River Lakes Corp., the 165-megaWatt Casecnan hydroelectric plant.
The operation of Casecnan was turned over to Fresh River Lakes by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the National Irrigation Administration.
Fresh Lakes won Casecnan power station in an auction, where it offered a winning bid of USD526 million, more than double the minimum amount of USD227.27 sought by the government.
“From the perspective of First Gen, building a similar hydro plant from scratch would have been more expensive and would have required a lengthy preparation time of up to seven—if not more years for planning, designing, permitting and construction,” said Dennis Gonzales, senior vice president and head of the Hydro Group of First Gen.
“Our winning offer, therefore, helped the company save on cost and precious time to construct a similar hydro project,” he added.
The sale of the Casecnan power plant to First Gen—the largest privatization of a state power asset so far under the Marcos administration, underwent stringent evaluation and review from various government agencies, all of which gave their respective approvals by January 2024 to facilitate the smooth turnover of the power plant. Aside from the plant itself, the power components that First Gen acquired from the government include the switchyard, the administration complex, guest house and some roads.
Ownership of the non-power components of Casecnan, such as the irrigation facilities, the weir and the tunnel, remains with the government, through NIA and PSALM.
The use of these non-power facilities is governed by separate operations and maintenance agreements between FRLC and NIA on one hand, and the former with PSALM, on the other.
Other hydro facilities owned by First Gen include the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway HydroElectric Power Plant, a storage hydropower plant with a dam and reservoir located close to Casecnan. It is also constructing the 120-MW Aya pumped storage hydro project, also in Pantabangan, on top of other run-of-river hydro projects in Mindanao.
First Gen also owns power plants fueled by geothermal, solar, and wind as well as natural gas, considered the cleanest fossil fuel. The acquisition of Casecnan power plant expanded the combined capacity of First Gen’s low-carbon power plants to 3,666 MW, which solidifies its position as the country’s leading clean energy provider.
