MANILA, Philippines—Lopez-led First Gen. Corp. is planning to bid for the management of National Power Corp.’s independent power producer contract for the 140-megawatt Casecnan hydropower project.

According to First Gen senior vice president Ernesto Pantangco, the company was keen on the facility since it supplies water to the Lopez firm’s Pantabangan/Masiway hydroelectric complex in Nueva Ecija.

Pantangco said the company remained interested in the facility even if it was “a bit more complicated” compared to the other IPPs on the auction block. The Casecnan facility is among the IPPs that the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) plans to offer to the private sector.

Pantangco explained that unlike other IPPs, the Casecnan facility could only engage in “purely trading until the time the contract [with the government] ends.”

“Off-hand you just have to view it as a purely trading [operation] until the turnover. Eventually, the IPPA can only own the power plant of Casecnan, but the dam has to be turned over to the government. All the contractual obligations will remain. It’s only the kilowatt-hours that the IPPA will use,” he explained.