MERALCO PowerGen Corp. (MGEN), the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), said it is open to opportunities in regard to a 232-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Mindanao, which is set to be privatized.
“We haven’t looked at it yet. Could be. It’s an opportunity,” MGEN President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel B. Rubio told reporters.
Mr. Rubio said growing electricity demand could create opportunities for additional power generation capacity.
State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is working to privatize the coal-fired power facility in Misamis Oriental, the last remaining government-owned facility of its type.
Located on a 55-hectare site within the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate, the baseload power plant started commercial operations in 2006 under 25-year build-operate-transfer arrangement with the National Power Corp. and PSALM that runs until 2031.
It is currently operated by SPI Power, Inc., formerly known as STEAG State Power, Inc. SPI Power is 85% owned by Aboitiz Power Corp. and 15% by La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp.
“Of course, there will be interested parties. We’ll look at it. I think there’s opportunity in Mindanao,” Mr. Rubio said.
MGEN has a diversified portfolio of thermal and renewable energy facilities. As of July 2026, it had a total net saleable capacity of 5,069.7 MW from conventional and renewable sources, as well as 56.4 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage capacity.
The company is currently developing a 1,200-MW coal-fired power project in Quezon province to help meet growing energy demand on Luzon.
Its renewed interest in coal-fired power follows confirmation by the Department of Energy that the project is exempt from the 2020 coal moratorium. The government had frozen all approvals for greenfield power plants fueled by coal in order to help the Philippines raise the share of renewable energy in its power generating portfolio.
Once the Quezon plant is completed in 2030, it is expected to generate enough power to service at least five million households.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera