First Philippine Industrial Park shifts 21 facilities to renewable power under RAP

BATANGAS — Lopez-led economic zone (ecozone) developer First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) has joined the government’s Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) by tapping into the renewable energy (RE) supply from its sister firm, First Gen Corp.

First Gen signed a power supply agreement on Monday to deliver electricity from renewable energy plants to 21 FPIP facilities and two of its subsidiaries inside the ecozone under the RAP.

RAP is a customer choice program launched by the Energy Regulatory Commission, which allows loads from multiple end-users within the same franchise area to be aggregated to meet the 500-kilowatt threshold.

FPIP consolidated 1.27 megawatts (MW) by pooling its own power requirements with those of subsidiaries FPIP Property Developers & Management Corp. and FPIP Utilities, Inc.

These subsidiaries help FPIP manage facilities that provide support services, such as wastewater and sewage treatment, water distribution, and industrial security, for more than 150 locators in FPIP’s 600-hectare ecozone.

FPIP then negotiated with First Gen Energy Solutions (FGES), a licensed retail electricity supplier, for electricity primarily from First Gen’s 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway and 165-MW Casecnan hydroelectric power plants in Nueva Ecija.

FPIP, a joint venture between First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp., houses global companies that include Collins Aerospace, Philippine Manufacturing Co. of Murata Inc., Dyson, Canon, Honda, and Nestlé.

Meanwhile, First Gen has 3,668 MW of combined capacity from its portfolio of plants that run on geothermal, wind, hydropower, solar energy, and natural gas.

“We have a diversified renewable energy portfolio and increasing demand for RE from customers to meet their sustainability and decarbonization goals. What we want to do is to demonstrate that it is possible to provide stable and steady RE supply while securing cost-efficient energy,” said Francis Giles B. Puno, president of First Gen and FPIP.

Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said that FPIP is the first customer of First Gen under RAP.

“Today’s event is already the 10^th RAP switch we have attended since February: ten switches in just six months — and counting,” she said.

“And while the numbers alone are impressive, what truly stands out is that each RAP switch is a story of success for both energy stakeholders and consumers. That is because each one means we are a step closer to the future we dream of: one where every Filipino enjoys the power of choice,” she added. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera