MANILA -- First Gen Corp said Monday it secured authority from the government to develop a 120-megawatt pumped storage hydropower facility in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.

Under the hydropower service contract it secured from the Department of Energy, First Gen said its unit, FG Hydro has 5 years for pre-development activities in Aya, Pantabangan.

The facility will allow FG Hydro to store water in its existing reservoir in Aya for use at a later time to generate power, the Lopez-led clean energy firm told the stock exchange.

First Gen said it signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Irrigation Administration in October 2019 for a feasibility study on the project.

Shares of First Gen were down 0.94 percent in late trading Monday compared to a 0.31-percent decline in the main index.

First Gen is a member of the Lopez Group, which also includes ABS-CBN Corp. News.abs-cbn.com is the official news website of ABS-CBN.