Energy Development Corp (EDC) is projecting capital expenditure (capex) spending of P19 billion for 2026 to finance its geothermal expansion program, according to senior vice president and chief financial officer Erwin Avante.
The P19 billion budget marks a slowdown in spending following two heavy years focused on drilling and growth projects.
“In the last two years, our capex was very heavy in terms of drilling and in terms of growth projects. So, next year, we’re winding down on drilling. There’s still drilling, but it’s not as much,” said Avante.
“In terms of growth projects, our growth projects are almost tapering off. So, we had 7 growth projects in the last three years,” he said.
Key projects in the pipeline include the anticipation of completing the 5.6-megawatt (MW) Bago Binary geothermal power plant in Negros Occidental by 2026. This follows growth projects EDC planned to commission this year such as the 28-MW Mahanagdong Binary Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte and three battery energy storage systems (BESS) totaling 40 megawatt-hours (MWh).
