THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said that they gave the go signal for the subsidiary of the Lopez-led First Gen Corp. to take over and privatize the Casecnan Hydroelectric Power Plant (CHEPP) for $526 million, or about P29.58 billion.

In a statement, the PCC said that the en banc had cleared Fresh River Lakes Corp. to take over CHEPP on Jan. 25.

This was after the commission's Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) had opened a Phase 1 review into the deal in December 2023.

“The transaction would not result in substantial lessening of competition in the relevant markets," as it noted that the 165-megawatt volume generated by the plant is "unlikely to impact the relevant markets,” the PCC said.

This is after the Fresh River Lakes Corp. was able to come up with the highest bid of $526 million to take over CHEPP.

CHEPP is located near Pantabangan and Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, which diverts water from the Casecnan and Taan Rivers through a 25-kilometer tunnel.

Likewise the transaction will effectively privatize CHEPP from state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), in line with the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) introduced in 2021.