Published
February 12, 2017, 10:00 PMby
Madelaine B. Miraflor
Semirara Mining and
Power Corporation (SMPC), the country’s biggest coal miner, is eyeing bigger
production this year from its coal mine site in Antique amid environmental
issues being thrown at it by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR).
SMPC Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Isidro Consunji said in an interview that the company expects
to produce more from its coal mining operations in Semirara Island in Caluya,
Antique, adding that the company is still pursuing its planned expansion in the
area.
While coal resources
have been discovered at four separate sites on Semirara Island, namely Panian,
Himalian, Bobog and Unong, the company only operates at Panian as of now.
To sustain its
operations, SMPC is now banking on its coal fields in the West (Molave) and
East (Narra) portions of Panian after having to exhaust all mineable coal
reserves at the Panian Pit of the island.
“(Target coal
production for this year) will be a little bit more than 13 million metric tons
(MT),” Consunji said. “This will be achievable as long as there’s not much
rains.”
Consunji said the
company produced 11.8 million metric tons of raw coal in 2016, which means it
has reached its annual target production of 12 million MT.
He said that for this
year, the production will be driven by the company’s investments in more
equipment.
It was just in March
last year when the government granted SMPC an environmental compliance
certificate (ECC) for Molave coal mine.
Consunji also said that
the company is “on track” with its planned expansion in the island.
He already told
Business Bulletin before that the long-term sustainability of the company’s mining
operations in the area will also be supported by its plan to mine in the
Himalian portion of Semirara Island.
There are at least 120
MT of in-site coal in Himalian Mine, which has not yet been opened until now.
It was just last year
when the government started to run after SMPC for alleged environmental
violations in Semirara Island.
Gov’t flags NGCP for concession breaches
Published
February 12, 2017, 10:01 PM By
Myrna M. Velasco
http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/02/12/govt-flags-ngcp-for-concession-breaches/
The government,
through Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) and
transmission asset owner National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), had
flagged National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on at least four violations
under their concession agreement (CA) for the privatized management of the
transmission facilities.
The infringements
include: Non-separation of accounting of NGCP’s related businesses; impleading
TransCo in a civil case; failure to put TransCo as rightful owner of the
properties acquired for transmission projects; and delayed submission of copies
of regulatory filings for its rate reset and related cases with the Energy
Regulatory Commission.
The two state-run firms
then have prodded NGCP to immediately comply with the proposed remedial
measures to keep the integrity of all provisions of their concession deal.
In a letter sent to
NGCP President Henry T. Sy Jr. on December 21, 2016, PSALM and TransCo sought
for “your faithful and religious performance of all the provisions of the CA…
otherwise, this would leave us with no other recourse than to issue a notice of
default.”
Finance Secretary
Carlos G. Dominguez, who is also the chairman of TransCo and PSALM Boards,
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, and ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar were
in the courtesy copies of the letter sent to the NGCP chief executive.
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