The Chioson Group of Companies and FLB Prime Holdings Inc., a Cebu-based steel manufacturer and property developer, have renewed their partnership with First Gen Corporation, the country’s leading provider of renewable energy (RE), for direct supply of geothermal power to the group’s business units in Cebu in line with its goal toward carbon neutrality.

 First Gen and Chioson Group officials signed on April 30 their renewed supply agreement wherein the former will provide 2.1 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the latter’s steel manufacturing plants in Mandaue City and the FLB Corporate Center headquarters in Cebu City.

The Chioson Group owns the steel manufacturing plants through Chioson Development Corporation (CDC) and Puresteel Manufacturing Corporation, and the corporate building through FLB Industries Inc.

The power supply for these three Chioson companies will come from the geothermal power plants in Kananga and Ormoc City in Leyte of Energy Development Corporation (EDC).

The Chioson Group first partnered with First Gen in 2020 as part of the company’s aim to manufacture in a more sustainable manner a wide range of steel products such as c-purlins, corrugated sheets, square tubes, rigid steel conduit pipes, rectangular tubes, rebars and nails.

“Over the last five years that we have partnered with First Gen, we have avoided at least five million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. We take pride in knowing that every steel product we make leaves behind the lowest carbon footprint possible. The Chioson Group looks forward to continuing our sustainability journey with First Gen,” said Bernard Chioson, COO of CDC.

“As we move ahead with our drilling program to harness more geothermal energy, we are confident that we can enable and empower more companies to advance their decarbonization journeys, not just with RE supply, but with other solutions that can help rationalize power consumption and electricity costs,” Arlene Sy, First Gen vice president for sales and marketing, said in response.

First Gen, through EDC, owns and operates in the country 13 power plants that run on geothermal energy. The EDC geothermal plants have close to 1,200 MW of installed capacity, or roughly 60% of the country’s total geothermal power capacity.