FDC Misamis seeks go-ahead for emergency deal with co-op
FDC Misamis Power Corp. of the Gotianun family and an electric cooperative in Eastern Samar have sought regulators’ go signal to execute a fresh emergency power supply agreement.
The Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (Esamelco) and FDC Misamis filed their application to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) late last year, saying approving such a deal could reduce consumers’ exposure to the volatile prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). WESM is an avenue where power is traded between producers and distributors to boost their supply.
Esamelco provides power services to 22 municipalities in Eastern Samar.
The two parties inked their second emergency power supply deal in September 2024, after the first one lapsed.
The power cooperative previously had a contract with Aboitiz’s GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. or GNPD for a 15-megawatt (MW) baseload supply. However, this was halted after the Supreme Court demanded all applications for approval of power supply agreements on or after June 2015 to comply with the Department of Energy’s competitive selection process.
“Without the power (supply) from GNPD, applicant Esamelco was not able to cover its total demand requirements and was forced to purchase power from WESM,” the application read.
For this new round of emergency supply deal, FDC Misamis would source the power from its coal-fired thermal power plant with a rated capacity of 405 MW, located at the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental.
The fresh agreement is set for another year.
FDC Misamis is a subsidiary of FDC Utilities Inc., the utilities and infrastructure arm of conglomerate Filinvest Development Corp.
In a previous statement, FDC Utilities said it would boost its generating capacity from 411 MW to 1,350 MW by 2033. Of such an increase, 71 percent would be sourced from renewable energy.
FDC Green Energy Corp., another subsidiary of FDC Utilities, began in August 2024 the construction of its 20.75-MW solar power project in Misamis Oriental, with its investment pegged at P700 million.
