Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Leadership change at MGEN Thermal; Toledo, Atimonan coal plants on track

MGEN Thermal, a subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), is shuffling its leadership. Effective October, Felino Bernardo will assume the role of president and CEO, replacing Jaime Azurin of Global Business Power Corp., who will retire on September 30 after two decades with the group.

Azurin will continue to serve as adviser until year-end.

Other shifts in the MGEN Thermal leadership include Arnel Santos, a veteran of moree than 30 years in the oil, chemicals, and energy industries, who was named senior vice president and chief operations officer.

MGEN Thermal is reportedly on track for the completion of its 73-megawatt (MW) Toledo coal project by October 2028, after arrangements for its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor.

“We have identified the EPC, of course, Chinese, because of the size, it is 73 MW net,” MGen President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio revealed in a recent interview. “So it will be bought by MGEN RES. It will be for the retail market.” He added that project costs on a per-megawatt basis have yet to be determined.

Rubio said the facility’s output will supply MGen’s retail electricity business.

MGEN Thermal is also advancing its Atimonan coal project, which recently closed its EPC bidding round.

Rubio confirmed that three proposals were submitted and are now under review. “We’re now discussing details of the offers from the three bidders,” he said, stressing that Chinese companies remain dominant in the sector.

Both coal projects, according to Rubio, will be developed with flexibility for future fuel use. “The condition is that by 2050, the plant should be able to fire an alternative fuel. We accepted that. Whether we shut down or consider a new fuel is something that we have already considered in our investment,” he said.

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