FGen's Batangas ecozone arm goes full RE
Published Jul 21, 2025 04:01 pm
BATANGAS — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. (FGen) announced that its sister company, First Philippines Industrial Park (FPIP), has switched its operations to full renewable energy (RE) under the retail aggregation program (RAP).
During a switch-on ceremony on Monday, July 21, Batangas-based economic zone developer FPIP inked a landmark agreement with FGen to supply RE to 21 facilities within FPIP and its two subsidiaries inside the ecozone.
This collaboration was made possible through FPIP’s consolidation of its own power requirements with FPIP Property Developers & Management Corp. and FPIP Utilities Inc. to meet the 500-kilowatt (kW) threshold, which unlocks the freedom to choose a preferred power supplier—in this case, through FGen.
The RAP mechanism of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) expands the retail competition and open access (RCOA) program, which enables consumers to pool their power requirements.
FPIP then tapped First Gen Energy Solutions Inc. (FGES) to get power supply from the 132-megawatt (MW) Pantabangan-Masiway and 165 MW-Casecnan hydroelectric power plants in Nueva Ecija.
Francis Giles Puno, president of First Gen and FPIP, said that the switch-on realizes a cost-efficient RE integration into operations as large as an ecozone.
“We have a diversified RE portfolio and increasing demand for RE from customers to meet their sustainability and decarbonization goals. What we want to do is to demonstrate that it is possible to provide a stable and steady RE supply while securing cost-efficient energy,” he said.
Outgoing ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta added that this will inspire more consumers to look into RAP and other power procurement mechanisms.
“This is the next generation of consumers that will fully embrace the power of choice: informed, empowered, and knowing the ‘captive supply’ only as a thing of the past—a distant point in our country’s energy security,” she said.
“Today, we now see more consumers generating their own power through solar rooftops, augmenting their power through the net-metering program, distributed energy resources of micro-grid systems, and soon, we hope, in peer-to-peer trading enabled by smart meters.”
FPIP is a joint venture (JV) between First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. It is home to Collins Aerospace, Philippine Manufacturing Co. of Murata Inc., Dyson, Canon, Honda, and Nestlé.
FGen, on the other hand, operates 28 RE plants, including geothermal, wind, solar, and hydropower assets. These facilities have a total of 1,600-MW worth of combined capacity.
FGen acquires loan for Casecnan plant
Aside from supplying RE to its industrial park, FGen has recently secured loan deals from three banks for Casecnan hydroelectric plant.
FGen’s subsidiary, Fresh River Lakes Corp. (FRLC), which operates Casecnan plant, has acquired a ₱15-billion loan from BDO Unibank Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
In an ambush interview, Giles explained that this was done to finance the acquisition of the plant.
“If you recall, we need to cover the operation of Casecnan, and the way we funded that is from First Gen. Now, what we did is the FRLC that owns Casecnan became the borrowing entity. That’s there to finance the original acquisition, so we can pay back to the parent,” he told reporters.
Emmanuel Singson, FGen’s chief financial officer (CFO), added that the latest financing will boost its capability to deliver a clean energy portfolio.
“At First Gen, we believe that hydroelectric power plays a major role in delivering reliable and compelling clean energy solutions to our customers. It is vital for the country’s energy security and decarbonization goal,” he added.