First Gen Corporation is on track to complete its 120-megawatt Aya pumped-storage project in Nueva Ecija by the fourth quarter of 2026, as part of its efforts to expand its hydropower portfolio.

According to a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the project, taken through its subsidiary First Gen Hydro Power Corp., will enhance the existing Pantabangan-Masiway plant complex by enabling the transfer of water between the Pantabangan and Masiway reservoirs to store and generate electricity.

Designed as a pumped-storage facility, the Aya project will allow First Gen to store excess energy and then release it during periods of peak demand. This helps address fluctuations associated with variable renewable energy sources.

Located in Barangay West Poblacion, the facility is engineered to minimize environmental and operational disruption, using only about 0.2% of the Pantabangan reservoir’s total volume.

First Gen earlier said the project would require close coordination with the National Irrigation Administration to ensure that power operations do not interfere with agricultural water requirements.

The Aya project forms part of the company’s broader strategy to strengthen grid reliability as the Philippines increases its share of renewable energy in the power mix.

Beyond Nueva Ecija, First Gen is also developing a pipeline of hydropower projects in Mindanao. These include the 42-megawatt Puyo, 32-megawatt Bubunawan, and the 39-megawatt San Isidro run-of-river plants.

These projects, together with the Aya facility, are expected to add 213 megawatts of flexible capacity to the company’s portfolio.

First Gen’s existing hydropower assets include the 132-megawatt Pantabangan-Masiway plant, the 165-megawatt Casecnan facility, and the 1.6-megawatt Agusan plant.

The expansion follows a PHP 75-billion investment earlier this year, when First Gen acquired a 40-percent stake in pumped-storage assets of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., owned by businessman Enrique Razon.

The deal covers projects such as the Wawa hydropower facility in Rizal and the Ahunan project in Laguna, with a combined potential capacity of about 2,000 megawatts and a target completion by 2030.

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