First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group is betting on another hydropower asset, this time the 796.64-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant complex in Laguna. In an interview, First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno confirmed that they secured bidding documents for the privatization of the CBK complex.
CBK is the major privatization project of the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) this year.
The hydropower plant is currently under a 25-year build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer and power purchase agreement between CBK Power Co. Ltd. and the National Power Corp. The contract will expire in February 2026.
"We continue to be interested because we just finished the Casecnan (plant) so that we can increase our (hydroelectric) facilities. CBK obviously is pump storage, and it will enable more renewable energy (RE) to come online," Puno said.
