SUMCFI director Engr. Emmanuel Abellanosa and president Roberto Montebon with First Gen power marketing and sales head Arlene Soriano and EDC market planning and contracts head Gideon Adriel Butalid, who represented First Gen during the contract signingSilliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc. (SUMCFI) has made the shift to renewable energy (RE) through First Gen Corporation, making it the first hospital in Negros Oriental to be directly powered by geothermal energy from locally sourced clean power.

This decision of SUMCFI was largely influenced by Dr. Angel Alcala, a National Scientist who is on the board of directors of the hospital and its sister institution, Silliman University. The university is known for its strong environmental advocacy and is one of the few in the country to be 100% powered by RE. First Gen has been supplying RE to Silliman University since 2019.
“After carefully evaluating offers from various proponents, the board has decided to partner with First Gen that will be able to supply us with clean, renewable energy through geothermal power coming from our very own province here in Negros Oriental at a very competitive price,” said Engr. Emmanuel D. Abellanosa, corporate secretary and a member of the SUMCFI board of directors, said during the ceremonial signing.
The 800-kilowatt geothermal power supply comes from First Gen’s 100% RE arm, Energy Development Corporation (EDC), whose second largest geothermal facility is located in Valencia.
“We thank SUMCFI for giving us the same trust that its sister company, Silliman University, has also been giving us since the start of our partnership. It is an honor for us to provide our own brand of reliable, cost-competitive RE to a medical institution that is also considered as ‘kasaligan’ (trustworthy) by its own patients and stakeholders,” said Gideon Adriel Butalid, head of EDC’s market planning and contracts.
SUMCFI also signed up for a 15-year solar rooftop power purchase agreement and remote energy monitoring system with First Gen subsidiary Pi Energy.
(Story/Photos by: Frances Ariola)