The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) asked First Gas Power Corp. and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to follow proper procedure in their request to extend their power purchase agreement (PPA).
First Gas, a subsidiary of First Gen Corp., and Meralco sent letters to the ERC on May 22, 2025 and July 1, 2025 to urgently appeal for confirmation of a term extension for their PPA.
The 25-year PPA for the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita natural gas plant in Batangas, owned by First Gas, is set to expire on Aug. 17, 2025. The original text incorrectly stated the expiration date as 1973.
“The commission resolved to issue a reply letter advising the parties to pursue the appropriate remedy/follow the proper procedure when requesting for an extension of a power purchase agreement,” the ERC said in a notice of commission action.
Separately, another First Gen subsidiary, FGP Corp., also has an existing 25-year PPA with Meralco for the 500-MW San Lorenzo natural gas plant, which is due to expire in 2027.
Under the PPAs, Meralco agrees to purchase a minimum number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) of the net electrical output from the plants for the 25-year contract periods.
First Gen president Francis Giles Puno previously noted that the company’s gas-fired plants were reaching key milestones with the expiration of their power sales contracts with Meralco.
“San Gabriel’s 414 MW contract expired in February 2023, while Santa Rita’s 1,000 MW and San Lorenzo’s 500 MW contracts expire in 2025 and 2027, respectively,” Puno said.
Meralco said it has been considering the expiration of the Santa Rita contract in its power supply procurement plan since 2019.
