First Gen Corp. will supply more than 24 megawatts (MW) of renewable baseload power to 10 electric cooperatives (ECs) in the Visayas under 15-year Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) forged following a competitive selection process.
The power will come from First Gen’s Unified Leyte Geothermal Power facilities and will be supplied to the ECs on a 24/7 baseload basis, First Gen said in a media release.
Among the 10 recipient cooperatives are Negros Oriental I Electric Cooperative (NORECO I) and Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO II), along with electric cooperatives in Capiz, Cebu, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.
The agreements were signed following the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) conducted by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) under the Luzon and Visayas Electric Cooperatives Aggregation (LVECA).
NORECO II general manager Atty. Fe Marie Dicen-Tagle said the agreement would help secure a reliable, competitive and sustainable power supply for consumers.
The aggregation of electricity demand from 29 ECs under LVECA enabled the participating cooperatives to pursue economies of scale and secure more competitive power supply terms, NEA said.
The CSP is a government-required mechanism for electric distribution utilities to procure electricity based on competitive and least-cost considerations.
NEA Special Bids and Awards Committee Vice Chairperson Atty. Alexander Paul Rivera said the PSAs establish a long-term partnership between the ECs and power generators aimed at providing consumers with reliable and stable electricity at the least possible cost.
The First Gen Group said the supply will be sourced from 100 percent indigenous geothermal energy, providing renewable baseload power while reducing exposure to fluctuations in international fuel prices.
Energy Development Corp. (EDC) president Jerome Cainglet said the partnership would provide the ECs with continuous geothermal power while supporting the country’s renewable energy transition.
First Gen is the country’s leading geothermal power supplier, accounting for about 63 percent of installed geothermal capacity, according to the company.
The First Gen Group has about 1,700 MW of renewable energy generating capacity from hydro, geothermal, solar and wind facilities nationwide. *
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