Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is looking at an additional hydropower pipeline of 213 megawatts (MW) with potential investments of up to $652 million.
Dennis Michael Gonzales, First Gen senior vice president and business unit head of the Business Development Group, said at the sidelines of the 3rd Philippine Hydro Summit and Exhibition 2025 this will add to the company’s existing 300 MW of hydro projects.
He said the expansion is consistent with First Gen’s target to boost the company’s portfolio to 13 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, 9 GW of which will come from renewable energy.
“It takes a while to build. Usually, hydro takes at least three years. Sometimes, maybe longer. Right now, our pipeline is roughly around 200 MW, that’s what we’re planning to build,” Gonzales said.
These projects include the 120 MW Aya pumped-storage project in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, and three run-of-river (ROR) hydro projects, namely the 32 MW Bubunawan in Bukidnon, 42 MW Puyo in Jabonga, Agusan del Norte, and 39 MW San Isidro in Bukidnon and Barangay Tignapoloan, Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental.
“I cannot really say we will build all of them next year because they have their own respective process… But what’s very close one would be Aya,” he said.
“Aya is a three-year construction period. So we’re still getting the permit with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) because these are facilities that are owned by NIA that we will use,” Gonzales said.
The Aya project is estimated to cost $200 million to construct, while the ROR hydro projects have a project cost of $4 million per MW.
He said ROR hydro brings with it the firming capacity of hydro, grid stability, reserve capacity and other ancillary services, while minimizing environmental impact. It harnesses natural river currents to spin turbines that create electric currents.
“ROR design helps protect wildlife and the river’s downstream ecosystem. Socioeconomic and environmental impacts can be better mitigated with ROR. But like any other hydro project, ROR is site-specific; and for the latter, even more so as it’s only feasible in rivers with relatively consistent flow. Because it’s dependent on natural river flows, output can be compromised, especially during hot, dry months,” he said.
To make the most of ROR hydro, Gonzales proposed co-locating and integrating ROR sites with less site-specific clean energy such as solar power and battery energy storage, maximizing available infrastructure.
“When regulation recognizes the nuances of hydro, and different RE technologies for that matter, we can unlock the potential of a 24/7 clean and renewable energy future. The Philippines is blessed with so much potential for RE. The possibilities for a decarbonized power grid in the country are infinite–one that has supply security, stability and reliability; affordable; and resilient against climate risks. It’s all a matter of harnessing that potential,” he said.
First Gen’s revenues from the hydro platform increased by $26.8 million, or 56.4 percent, to $74.4 million in the first nine months of 2025 from $47.6 million in the same period last year.
The increase was largely due to the higher revenues from FG Hydro due to its higher starting water elevation and higher IDR that resulted in higher electricity sold to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and increased capacity available for ancillary services offered to the Reserve Market. In addition, First Gen’s Casecnan hydro plant also recognized higher revenues following its full nine months of operations in 2025.
