First Gen pumping P38-B into hydro expansion

Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is surging ahead in the hydropower space with plans to channel roughly $652 million (P38.4 billion) to build four major projects across the country.

- By BRIX LELIS

“Right now, our pipeline is roughly 200 megawatts,” First Gen senior vice president Dennis Michael Gonzales told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the 2025 Philippine Hydro Summit and Exhibition.

These projects include the 100-mega-watt Aya pumped-storage in Luzon and three run-of-river (ROR) hydro facilities —42-MW Puyo, 32-MW Bubunawan and 39-MW San Isidro — across Mindanao.

“Aya is somewhere a little over $200 million,” Gonzales said when asked about the estimated investment for the pumped storage hydro project.

First Gen, meanwhile, plans to allocate around $4 million per MW of ROR hydro projects, he said.