Pantabangan Reservoir in Nueva Ecija (PNA photo by Kris M. Crismundo)
PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija – Lopez-led First Gen Corp. aims to reach generating power capacity in its hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) in this province to around 400 megawatts by 2028.
This, as the company sees the completion of the 100 to 120-megawatt (MW) Aya Pumped-Storage Project in four years, First Gen senior vice president and head of hydro group Dennis Gonzales said.
“We’re already at close to 300 (MW). So the time we finish Aya -- so we are waiting for the go-signal of NIA (National Irrigation Administration) for Aya. Once we get their go-signal then within a year, we can start construction. And then within three years, that 100- to 120-megawatt plant will be online,” Gonzales said Monday in a press briefing.
Last month, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the NIA turned over to First Gen the Casecnan HEPP with a capacity of 165 MW through its unit Fresh River Lakes Corp.
First Gen bid for the Casecnan HEPP reached USD526 million.
In 2010, First Gen upgraded the Pantabangan-Masiway HEPP capacity from 112 MW to 132 MW.
“(W)e know the complexity of developing a hydropower project. So I think, for one, it’s really part of our commitment to bolster our renewable portfolio. At the same time, because we’re there in Pantabangan, it’s also part of our commitment to have been ensuring stewardship of the water resources there in Nueva Ecija, not only for the power side but also in our other stakeholders,” Gonzales said. (PNA)
