FIRST GEN Corp. on Monday said the first unit of its two-unit 97-megawatt (MW) Avion power plant is again commercially operating using natural gas.

“The unit is currently commercially available on natural gas operation but GE (General Electric) will continue recommissioning and testing activities using liquid fuel,” the Lopez-led firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

In December last year, First Gen said GE had advised that the 48.5-MW Avion Unit 1 could not be operated because of a gas turbine’s damaged compressor.

It said on Monday that the unit had been partially completed. Avion is said to be the country’s first power facility to operate on aircraft engines for land-based power generation.

The Avion power plant is located within the First Gen compound in Batangas City and is owned by First Gen’s wholly owned subsidiary Prime Meridian Powergen Corp.

Avion is one of the five facilities sourcing its fuel from the offshore Malampaya natural gas field in Palawan. It started commercial operations on Sept. 26, 2016.

On its website, First Gen described Avion as a unit ideal for merchant peaking plant in the company’s portfolio of assets with its capability to run on natural gas or diesel and with its turbines being able to perform unlimited starts and stops.

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines contracted half of Avion’s capacity for the grid’s ancillary services, while the other half is sold to the wholesale electricity spot market.

At the local bourse, First Gen shares dropped 45 centavos or 1.61% on Monday to close at P27.50 apiece. — Marielle C. Lucenio