Lyceum in Batangas and Laguna shift to geothermal power

Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) has consolidated the power demand across its campuses in South Luzon through a partnership with First Gen Corp.

The Lopez-led firm said on Wednesday it had inked a new power supply deal with LPU for its Batangas and Laguna campuses.

The agreement signed earlier this month covers electricity from First Gen’s geothermal power plants in Tongonan, Ormoc City, and Kananga in Leyte.

The pooling of the two satellite campuses’ electricity demand was made possible through the government’s retail aggregation program (RAP).

RAP allows consumers or enterprises with multiple facilities that share a common area to pool their demand to hit the 500-kilowatt minimum threshold.

This program is expected to accommodate more customers as regulators approved the reduction of the threshold to 100 kW per month, starting June of this year.

“As retail competition and open access were implemented and thresholds went down, we are proud to partner with LPU whose values and commitment to environmental sustainability align closely with ours,” said Carlo Vega, chief customer engagement officer at First Gen.

“We are optimistic that our partnership with First Gen will open more opportunities for us to utilize more renewable energy and become more energy efficient,” said Peter Laurel, president of LPU.

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The university system has five campuses in Metro Manila and South Luzon.

First Gen, meanwhile, has 1,700 megawatts (MW) of renewable-based generating capacity—from geothermal, hydro, wind and solar sources.

The firm also has a 40 percent-interest in four gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW.

Geothermal energy is the only renewable source with baseload capability. This refers to electricity that can be delivered consistently over extended periods.