165-MW Casecnan hydro power plant turned over to First Gen subsidiary

THE GOVERNMENT has turned over the ownership and operation of the 165-megawatt (MW) Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant to First Gen Corp. subsidiary.

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) handed over the operations of the Casecnan hydro facilities in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija to Fresh River Lakes Corp. (FRLC).

This was after the company secured all regulatory permits and remitted payment for the purchase of the power plant.

“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,” First Gen Senior Vice-President and Head of the Hydro Group Dennis Gonzales said in a statement on Monday.

In May 2023, the PSALM secured the highest bid from FRLC with a price of $526 million, higher than the minimum bid price of $227.27 million.

“Our winning offer, therefore, helped the company save on cost and precious time to construct a similar hydro project,” Mr. Gonzales said.

The Casecnan hydro is a run-of-river type of power facility which generates energy by diverting water from the Casecnan and Taan Rivers through a 26-kilometer-long tunnel.

The facility was turned over to the government in 2021 with the expiration of the build-operate-transfer contract with the previous operator, Casecnan Water and Energy Co., Inc. It is co-owned by the PSALM and NIA at a 60:40 sharing.

Aside from the plant itself, the power components that First Gen has acquired from the government include the switchyard, the administration complex, guest house and some roads.

According to First Gen, the ownership of the non-power components of Casecnan, such as the irrigation facilities, the weir, and the tunnel, remains with the government. —