FIRST Gen Corp. (First Gen) announced on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fresh River Lakes Corp., has signed loan agreements worth a combined P15 billion with BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
First Gen told the stock exchange that Fresh River Lakes, the owner and operator of the 165-megawatt (MW) Casecnan hydroelectric power plant located in Nueva Ecija, signed separate loan agreements worth P5 billion with each bank.
It said proceeds of the loans will be used for the subsidiary’s general corporate requirements and to pay off the hydro plant’s acquisition.
“The loan was there to help finance the acquisition of the Casecnan plant. If you recall, we need to cover the operation of Casecnan, and the way we funded that is from First Gen. So, what we did is that Fresh River Lakes Corp. became the borrowing entity and borrowed P15 billion from the three banks,” First Gen President and COO Giles Puno said in an interview at the sidelines of a related event held on Monday.
“At First Gen, we believe that hydroelectric power plays a major role in delivering reliable and compelling clean energy solutions to our customers,” First Gen Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Singson said in a statement.
“This latest financing will further strengthen our ability to continue delivering a competitive and dependable portfolio of clean energy to the nation,” Singson said as he thanked BDO, BPI, and RCBC for their continued trust and support.
First Gen had also forged an agreement with its sister company, First Philippines Industrial Park (FPIP), to enter the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) Retail Aggregation Program (RAP). A switching ceremony was held on Monday to mark its entry into the program.
Under the agreement, First Gen, through subsidiary First Gen Energy Solutions, will supply 21 facilities of FPIP and its two subsidiaries inside the ecozone, which have a total capacity of 1.27 MW, with renewable energy.
“We have a diversified renewable energy portfolio and increasing demand for renewable energy 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 renewable energy supply while securing cost-efficient energy,” Puno said.
The RAP is an initiative launched by the commission in 2022 as part of the government’s Retail Competition and Open Access Program (RCOA), allowing an electricity user with a consumption of at least 500 kilowatts (kW) a month to choose a preferred power supplier and benefit from better services at potentially lower rates.
The RAP mechanism expands RCOA’s scope by enabling multiple electricity consumers within a contiguous area to pool their power requirements to meet the 500-kW threshold and qualify to choose a preferred power supplier.
“Our switching ceremony this afternoon is a significant milestone in our collective journey toward energy democracy, as FPIP becomes the very first customer of First Gen under the RAP,” ERC Chairman and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta said.
“With First Philippines Industrial Park aggregating the power of your 21 facilities and two subsidiaries with a combined demand of 1.27 MW, you prove that you are not only an industrial hub for multinational companies, but the FPIP also serves as a thriving ground for innovation, growth, and Filipino talent,” Dimalanta added.
“RAP, along with other Customer Choice Programs that the ERC is advocating for, is about making good on the promise of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) to give consumers more control over their energy needs,” she said.
First Gen shares on Monday dropped by P0.34, or 1.98 percent, to close at P16.86 each.
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