Atimonan One Energy Inc.’s planned 1,200-megawatt ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant is projected to provide significant benefits to the local community, with an estimated annual economic contribution of more than 1 billion pesos.
This includes revenue from real property taxes and funding for community development initiatives. The plant is expected to generate enough power for at least 5 million households or the energy needs of approximately 1,000 hospitals.
The project is also expected to create as many as 6,000 jobs during construction and around 300 long-term positions once the plant is operational. The new power source will account for about 7 percent of Luzon’s total energy demand, playing a crucial role in strengthening the country’s energy security and potentially lowering electricity costs by P12 billion annually.
“We are not just building a power plant — we are helping build communities,” said Lino Bernardo, chief operating officer of Meralco PowerGen Corp.’s thermal arm, MGEN, which is the parent company of A1E.
“We are committed to making sure the people of Quezon are the first to benefit from the opportunities this project will create. That means investing in their training, hiring locally and working with government partners like TESDA to build lasting skills that go beyond construction.”
MGEN executives recently met with Quezon Gov. Helen Tan, highlighting their intention to begin construction and prioritize hiring workers from within the province.
The company plans to conduct skills training and collaborate with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to prepare local residents for jobs related to the project.
Tan instructed MGEN to ensure inclusive economic development, noting the project’s significance in uplifting the local workforce and contributing to regional growth.
MGEN has an existing partnership with TESDA for its MTerra Solar Project in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, where it has implemented targeted training programs. This is part of a broader effort by MGEN to ensure its power projects deliver both reliable and affordable electricity and tangible socioeconomic benefits to host communities.
The plant will be built using High Efficiency, Low Emission (HELE) technology, which maximizes energy production while minimizing fuel consumption. This technology is designed to achieve lower carbon emissions from thermal plants and is used in countries such as South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and China. Once completed, the plant is expected to provide a sufficient supply of reliable and affordable baseload energy for the Philippines.
As of July 2025, MGEN operates a diverse portfolio of power generation assets with a combined net sellable capacity of 5,068 megawatts.
