First Gen Corporation Acquires Ownership of Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant

Fresh River Lakes Corporation (FRLC), a subsidiary of First Gen Corporation, has taken over ownership and management of the Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant from the government through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

After First Gen obtained all necessary licenses and paid for the power plant, PSALM and NIA employees formally turned over control of the Casecnan hydro facilities in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

With the handover, the 165 megawatt (MW) Casecnan power plant—which PSALM put up for auction last year as a component of the government's privatization initiative—has been sold. First Gen, managed by Lopez, won the auction with a US$526 million offer through FRLC, far exceeding the government's minimum bid amount.

“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,” explained Dennis Gonzales, Senior Vice President and Head of the Hydro Group of First Gen.

“Our winning offer, therefore, helped the company save on cost and precious time to construct a similar hydro project.”
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Various government agencies rigorously evaluated and reviewed the sale of the Casecnan power plant to First Gen, the largest privatization of a state power asset under the Marcos administration to date. By January 2024, all of these agencies had granted their respective approvals, allowing for a smooth handover of the power plant.

In addition to the plant, First Gen also purchased the switchyard, administration building, guest house, and a few roads from the government as power components.
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The government, via NIA and PSALM, continues to be the owner of Casecnan's non-power components, including the irrigation system, the weir, and the tunnel. Separate operations and maintenance agreements between FRLC and NIA, and the former with PSALM, regulate how these non-power facilities are used.

The 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Power Plant (PHEPP), a storage hydropower plant with a dam and reservoir adjacent to Casecnan, is one of First Gen's other hydro facilities. In addition to other run-of-river hydro projects in Mindanao, it is building the 120 MW Aya pumped storage hydro project in Pantabangan.

A visit to the Casecnan facility and the adjoining reservoir, Pantabangan Lake, which features irrigation and power generation facilities, has been extended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other government officials.

In addition to hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, and natural gas—which is regarded as the cleanest fossil fuel—are all utilized by First Gen power plants.

First Gen boosted the total capacity of its low-carbon power plants to 3,666 MW by acquiring the Casecnan power plant, securing its place as the nation's top supplier of clean energy.