Meralco assured of 414MW in new deal with First Gen

First Gen Corp. yesterday said one of its subsidiaries has secured a new power supply agreement (PSA) with the Manila Electric Co. covering 414 megawatts of baseload capacity.

First Gen said in a statement the six-year PSA between Meralco and First NatGas Power Corp. represented the entire generating capacity of San Gabriel combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant, which is operating in Batangas City.

“The term of the PSA is six years using gas from the Malampaya field, but, in the event that liquefied natural gas (LNG) becomes available, the term of the PSA could be extended upon mutual agreement with Meralco,” First Gen said.

The company said that with this PSA, “Meralco secures competitively priced” baseload electricity at P3.77 per kilowatt-hour.

Baseload plants are generators that run round-the-clock as these supply the minimum demand.

“Under the terms of the PSA, power from San Gabriel is actually available for purchase by Meralco immediately,” First Gen said. “(H)owever, the sale of electricity to Meralco will only commence upon its approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission.”

In a related development, PetroGreen Energy Corp. said the 12-MW second geothermal power generator of Maibarara Geothermal Inc. in Batangas has started delivering electricity through the Luzon grid.

Maibarara Geothermal is a joint venture among PetroGreen Energy, Phinma Energy Corp. and PNOC Renewables Corp.

“After its synchronization to the grid, the [generator] is currently undergoing a series of capability and reliability tests,” MGI power plant manager Paul Elmer C. Morala said in a statement.

“During these tests, the ERC will conduct a technical inspection as part of the commission’s requirements for the issuance of a certificate of compliance (COC),” Morala said. “Commercial operations of [the unit] will follow after the COC award.”

Maibarara’s Unit 2 is the fourth generator involving PetroGreen Energy.

This followed the 20-MW first unit of Maibarara in 2014, the 36 MW Nabas-1 wind farm in June 2015, and the 50 MW Tarlac-1 solar facility in February 2016.