First Gen calls for policy reform in energy sector

Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is urging the Marcos administration to revisit its energy policies, noting that some regulations could stall investments, particularly in renewables.

- By Brix Lelis

First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said some regulatory policies and market mechanisms were making investments in the energy sector "difficult to sustain."

"We urgently need policy reform to encourage — not deter — clean energy investment," Puno said at the company's annual stockholders' meeting yesterday.

In particular, Puno is calling on the government to reevaluate the current market price caps, which, according to him, drive away much-needed power investments.

A price cap is a regulatory ceiling that limits how electricity prices can go in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the centralized venue for power trading.