By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
ENERGY Development Corp. (EDC) has set a capital expenditure (capex) budget of P19 billion for 2026, lower than this 12 months’s allocation, as the corporate scales back drilling activities following several years of heavy investment in geothermal growth projects.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 Sustainable Energy Awards on Tuesday, EDC Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Erwin O. Avante said the corporate is entering a less capital-intensive phase after an aggressive drilling program.
“Within the last two years, our capex was very heavy by way of drilling and growth projects,” he said. “Next 12 months, we’re winding down on drilling.”
The planned 2026 capex is below the roughly P30-billion budget earmarked for 2025, which was largely allocated to drilling activities and the event of latest geothermal capability.
EDC plans to drill six geothermal wells next 12 months to support steam production and potential capability additions. This compares with 12 wells drilled in 2025 and 24 wells in 2024.
In August, the corporate inaugurated its 22-megawatt (MW) Tanawon geothermal power plant in Sorsogon, which is predicted to generate about 159,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
The Tanawon facility is the second of seven growth projects in EDC’s pipeline, following the commissioning of the 29-MW Palayan binary geothermal power plant in July 2024.
EDC, the renewable energy unit of Lopez-led First Gen Corp., has a complete installed capability of 1,388.8 MW, accounting for about 20% of the Philippines’ total renewable energy capability.
Since 1976, the corporate has developed geothermal facilities across Bicol, Leyte, Negros Island, and Mindanao. It also operates wind and solar assets in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, and hydroelectric plants in Nueva Ecija.
Outside the Philippines, EDC has expanded into Indonesia through a partnership with PT DSSR Daya Mas Sakti, a neighborhood geothermal energy firm.
Under the agreement, the businesses aim to develop geothermal resources with a combined potential capability of as much as 440 MW across several sites in Indonesia.
Mr. Avante said EDC expects to start identifying prospect sites next 12 months for the event of two geothermal projects under the partnership.