FIRST GEN CORP. is exploring participation in the planned rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power complex in Mindanao, as part of its push to expand its hydro portfolio and strengthen its renewable energy (RE) mix.
“We will look into it,” Jay Joel Soriano, First Gen vice-president and head of strategy and planning, told reporters last week. “We will consider it as, ‘Is there room to upgrade? Is there room to make something really good, even better?’ That’s always a healthy perspective to take.”
The Agus-Pulangi complex consists of seven run-of-river hydro plants with a combined installed capacity of about 1,000 megawatts (MW), though only 600-700 MW are operational due to aging equipment.
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is pursuing a rehabilitation plan to extend the facilities’ life and restore full dependable capacity.
Implementation of the concession is expected between 2027 and 2030, after which the government may opt to privatize the complex.
PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Edward Dela Serna earlier said the project could yield as much as P90 billion in revenues once completed.
Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, PSALM must privatize government-owned power assets and use the proceeds to pay down National Power Corp. liabilities. The Agus-Pulangi complex and the decommissioned Mindanao coal plant remain among PSALM’s last power holdings.
Next year, PSALM is set to turn over the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydro complex to the Thunder Consortium — composed of Aboitiz Renewables, Sumitomo Corp. and Electric Power Development Co. — which offered P36.27 billion, outbidding the FGKW Consortium of First Gen Prime Energy and Korea Water Resources Corp., which submitted P19.62 billion.
Last year, the government also transferred the 165-MW Casecnan hydro plant to Fresh River Lakes Corp., a First Gen unit, for $526 million.
Mr. Soriano said First Gen continues to pursue hydropower opportunities, calling the technology a “nice complement” to its geothermal, solar and wind assets.
“We need the right mix of technologies,” he said. “To support all the solar that’s coming up, we need balancing technologies — and hydro is a great balancing technology.”
First Gen, among the country’s biggest renewable developers, operates with about 1,600 MW of clean energy capacity. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
