First Gen unit inks deal for P2.8 billion loan

MANILA, Philippines — A unit of First Gen Corp. has secured a P2.8-billion loan to fund the working capital requirements of the 97-megawatt (MW) Avion dual-fired open-cycle gas turbine power plant in Batangas.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, First Gen said its subsidiary Prime Meridian Powergen Corp. (PMPC) signed a P2.8 billion worth of thee-year term loan facilities with Bank of the Philippine Islands and ING Bank N.V. Manila Branch.

Proceeds will be used to fund the general and corporate working capital requirements of PMPC, which owns and operates the 97 MW Avion dual-fired open-cycle gas turbine power plant.

“This is the first term loan of PMPC, and it is reflective of the Avion power plant’s strong and stable cash flows since starting operations in 2016. The combined debt facilities totaling P2.8 billion is a testimony to the strong support and continuing confidence of our lenders in First Gen’s natural-gas business,” First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said in a statement.

Located in the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City, the 97-MW Avion open-cycle natural gas-fired power plant started commercial operations on September 26, 2016. It uses dual fuel aero-derivative gas turbines developed by General Electric (GE).

The plant has the capability to run on either natural gas or diesel, and its turbines have the flexibility to ramp up quickly and to do unlimited daily starts and stops, making it the ideal merchant peaking plant in First Gen’s portfolio of assets.

Last August, Avion’s second unit went offline due to damage found in its gas turbine, which was discovered in a routine inspection.

It was recommissioned using liquid fuel on Oct. 20 and using Malampaya natural gas later that month, allowing it to be commercially available on both natural gas and liquid fuel.

Puno said First Gen pioneered the gas platform 24 years ago, which now “reached even greater heights.”

“The natural gas platform now stands at 2,017 MW and we are working hard to deliver the country’s first Interim offshore LNG terminal project, as well as additional natural gas-fired power plants,” he said.

“Today, we are honored and grateful that our lenders continue to be supportive of our endeavors to deliver clean and cost-efficient power to Filipinos,” Puno said.

First Gen owns and operates the country’s biggest fleet of power plants that run on natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel that emits just a fraction of the carbon dioxide of coal-fired power plants.

First Gen’s portfolio of power plants also runs on geothermal, wind, hydro and solar, which are all RE.

Its portfolio clean, low-carbon, and renewable power plants have a combined capacity of 3,495 MW.