First Gen Corporation of the Lopez group is seriously considering to exercise its preemptive rights in the planned equity sale of BG Asia plc, its foreign partner in the 1,000-megawatt Sta. Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo gas-fired plants.
“Yes we do have (right of first refusal), I guess at the right time, we will look at exercising that option,” First Gen chairman and chief executive officer Federico R. Lopez said.
The reported prospective third party taker of the 40% shareholdings of its British partner in the First Gas plants is Korea Electric Power Corporation. Given the right of first refusal option though, First Gen may acquire the BG shares by matching Kepco’s offer.
While facing several transitions in the industry though, First Gen is keen on reinforcing both its presence in the domestic power industry and even planned forays for overseas investments. The company is cementing not only its short-term expansion plan but also its long-term strategies.
With nuclear power gaining traction as likely solution for the country’s long-term energy security, First Gen chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez likewise indicated the conglomerate’s willingness to look at it as an option for the future.
When asked by reporters on the group’s interest in nuclear power, the older Lopez indicated that “it’s not an impossibility. I guess that would still be clean, as long as it is clean energy.”
Part of the business growth strategy spelled out by the company would be to at least maximize local investment potential within the prescribed market share caps of 30 percent per grid and 25 percent on a national level; and that shall allow them to expand by another 1,500 megawatts in the near term.
“We cannot grow very much because each group is limited to 25-percent …to keep growing, we’re looking for new directions, we are a pioneering group, so we’re looking for something new,” he stressed, reiterating that overseas investments will definitely part of that growth agenda.
The company also emphasized that it will backpedal on selling its remaining shares in Manila Electric Company (Meralco). “Not for now, we want to continue to hold the stake,” Lopez noted on queries if there is any plan to dispose further its equity in the country’s largest power distribution firm.
And while they apparently set preference on pursuing clean energy alternatives, the Lopez son intimated that, as a company with aspirations for growth and diversity, “when we say clean, it’s like we never say never. But what we are prioritizing are cleaner resources.”
Referencing on the firm’s recent interest to bid for the contract of the 650-megawatt Malaya thermal power facility, the First Gen chief executive stressed that such shall be anchored on helping provide supply security in the grid. “When there’s a need for these plants which are for peaking, even coming from a different resource, we also look at plants that can help provide security over time,” he stressed.
Alongside plans for expansion, First Gen and its subsidiaries, like the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), are also scouring for opportunities that will further help shore up bottom line.
“A lot of focus of what we’re doing, like for First Gen, is revving up and bringing it to its full potential. And with that, you really need to work also with the existing management of EDC to bring synergies within the two companies,” the younger Lopez stressed.
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