Reporter

DESPITE its acquisition of the Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) and a planned expansion program, First Gen Corp. said it is within the prescribed ceiling of 30 percent of a grid and 25 percent of the national grid under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

“Under the Epira, we can control 25 percent of the dependable capacity of the national grid and 30-percent of a certain grid—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao—wherein we have the ability to dispatch power generated and control the price,” Richard B. Tantoco, First Gen executive vice president and chief operating officer said in an interview.

Dependable capacity refers to usable electricity. In the case of all the PNOC-EDC assets, he quickly added that FGC has zero-control even if they own the asset. Tantoco said the kilowatt-hours go to the National Power Corp.—which may dispatch and control pricing of the EDC assets.

“We’re still way below in terms of the national cap—even if we control 1,000-megawatt (MW) Sta. Rita, 500-MW San Lorenzo, and 112-MW Pantabangan. The Luzon grid has 10,400-MW of dependable capacity, and we only control 1,600-MW. So that’s still far from the 30 percent,” Tantoco said.

In Luzon, Tantoco said First Gen controls 1,600-MW and the cap is 30 percent of one grid. In theory, the company can go to as much as 3,000-MW.

Tantoco earlier revealed that First Gen plans to refinance about $400 million outstanding of the 500-MW San Lorenzo and 1,000-MW Sta. Rita gas-fired power plants within the year by at least $1.1 billion.

Tantoco said the plan coincides with a need to finance the expansion of San Gabriel by either infusing capital or tapping the debt market and that the debt for the two power plants have gone down from $1 billion over the past eight years.

“We plan to borrow $1.1 billion to pay down the $400-million remaining debt and use the balance of $700-million to finance expansion projects,” Tantoco said.

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THE Philippine Federation of Pre-Need Plans Companies Inc. (PFPPCI) said a proposed tax increase by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) would hurt the industry and eventually push companies to close shop.

DESPITE its acquisition of the Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) and a planned expansion program, First Gen Corp. said it is within the prescribed ceiling of 30 percent of a grid and 25 percent of the national grid under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

SHANGHAI AND TOKYO—Asian stocks Tuesday plunged, sending the regional benchmark to its biggest decline since April 1990, on concern the global economy is faltering.

ROLAND Avante, a treasurer at Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank, comments on the outlook for the Philippine peso and interest rates.