EDC expands geothermal platform

MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is adding an additional 30-megawatt (MW) capacity as it looks to expand its geothermal platform, its top official said.

The company is pursuing several local expansion projects across the country, EDC president and COO Richard Tantoco said.

“Right now, we have a few plants lined up for EDC. They are small, less than 30 MW,” he said.

The existing geothermal assets with possible expansion projects include the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Production in Sorsogon, its Leyte geothermal projects and Mt. Apo in Mindanao.

“We are likely to issue notice to proceed on one of them within the next six months,” Tantoco said.

In Leyte, the company owns and operates the 112.5 MW Tongonan, 180-MW Mahanagdong, 125-MW Upper Mahiao, and 232.5-MW Malitbog geothermal projects.

The Bacon-Manito Geothermal Production in Sorsogon is composed of the 120-MW Bacman I and 20-MW Bacman II.

It also has geothermal power plants on Mount Apo in Mindanao which have capacities of 52 MW and 54 MW.

EDC also has 15 geothermal contract areas, of which only four are in commercial operations.

For this year, the company said it has set a budget of P7.45 billion, mostly allocated to improve the reliability of its geothermal facilities.

It said about 88.11 percent, or P6.56 billion, will be used to finance acquisitions to support the operations and maintenance requirements of the geothermal plants in Leyte, Negros Island, Bacon-Manito, and Mt. Apo.

The balance of the capex, meanwhile, will be used as investments in First Gen (FG) Hydro, Wind Ilocos Norte Business Unit, Solar Business Unit, Latin America, geothermal, wind and solar expansions, and head office.

Last year, EDC reported a net income of P9.59 billion, a 20 percent jump from P7.94 billion in the previous year.