Chioson Group Partners Anew with First Gen for RE Supply to Cebu Projects

​The Chioson Group of Companies and FLB Prime Holdings, Inc., a Cebu-based steel manufacturer and property developer, have renewed their partnership with First Gen Corporation (First Gen), the country’s leading provider of renewable energy (RE), for direct supply of geothermal power to the group’s business units in Cebu in line with its goal towards carbon neutrality.

​First Gen and Chioson Group officials signed last April 30 their renewed supply agreement, wherein the former will provide 2.1 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the latter’s steel manufacturing plants in Mandaue City and the FLB Corporate Center headquarters in Cebu City.

The Chioson Group owns these steel manufacturing plants, through Chioson Development Corporation and Puresteel Manufacturing Corporation; and the corporate building, through FLB Industries Inc.

The power supply for these three Chioson companies will come from the geothermal power plants in Kananga and Ormoc City in Leyte of First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the country’s largest geothermal company.

The Chioson group first partnered with First Gen in 2020 as part of the company’s aim to manufacture in a more sustainable manner a wide range of steel products such as c-purlins, corrugated sheets, square tubes, rigid steel conduit pipes, rectangular tubes, rebars and nails.

“Over the last five years that we have partnered with First Gen, we have avoided at least 5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. We take pride in knowing that every steel product we make leaves behind the lowest carbon footprint possible. The Chioson Group looks forward to continuing our sustainability journey with First Gen,” said Bernard Chioson, COO of Chioson Development Corporation.

“As we move ahead with our drilling program to harness more geothermal energy, we are confident that we can enable and empower more companies to advance their decarbonization journeys, not just with RE supply, but with other solutions that can help rationalize power consumption and electricity costs,” Arlene Sy, First Gen Vice President for Sales and Marketing, said in response.

First Gen, through EDC, owns and operates in the country 13 power plants that run on geothermal energy, an RE with the distinct advantage over other RE resources for its capability to generate electricity on a 24/7 or uninterrupted and year-round basis. These EDC geothermal plants have close to 1,200 MW of installed capacity, or roughly 60 percent of the country’s total geothermal power capacity.

First Gen’s RE portfolio also includes hydro, wind and solar facilities with more than 400 MW of total combined capacity. In addition to the RE facilities, First Gen has four other power plants with a total capacity of 2,017 MW that run on natural gas, a fuel known for its flexibility to compensate for the intermittence of RE. This diversified portfolio of renewable and low-carbon generating facilities helps assure the country’s energy security.