Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 30, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/30/2053222/semirara-income-down-64-p3-billion
MANILA, Philippines — Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) registered a 64 percent drop in its net earnings in the nine months to September due to lower prices and demand for coal and electricity.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SMPC said net income fell to P3 billion from P8.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
For the third quarter alone, the company posted a 71 percent drop in profit to P750 million from P2.58 billion in the third quarter of 2019.
“Coal segment in the third quarter of 2020 was affected by further decline in coal export prices and lower coal volume sold,”the company said.
SMPC sold 2.7 million metric tons (MT) of coal in the third quarter, eight percent higher than the 2.5 MMT sold in the second quarter, with a composite average price of P1,594 per MT.
Coal sales stood at 8.4 MMT from 12.1 MMT, a 30 percent drop year-on year. Composite average coal price also went down 20 percent year-on-year to P1,712 per MT from P2,133 per MT in the same period last year.
“Coal production is not significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as it posted 10.9 MMT from 12 MMT produced during the same period last year with a 9 percent drop year-on-year,”the company said.
For its power segment, the company said Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) was able to book additional contracted capacity of 150 megawatts (MW), bringing its contracted capacity to 221 MW.
In contrast, Sem-Calaca Power Corp. was hit by higher exposure to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) with a 32 percent contracted capacity or 170 MW.
Friday, October 30, 2020
DOE urged to put flesh to vow of scrapping coal plants
By: Ronnel W. Domingo - 05:10 AM October 30, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/310716/doe-urged-to-put-flesh-to-vow-of-scrapping-coal-plants
The Department of Energy (DOE) should make good its promise to put a halt to new coal projects and push forward in this direction by clipping the life of currently operating plants and retiring aging ones, according to the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
The environmentalist think tank said in a statement the moratorium on greenfield coal projects “signals the country’s first step in exiting coal” and would help efforts to build a more sustainable power system resilient to structural changes and flexible to new, indigenous and cleaner technological innovations.
“While it has yet to release an official order, the DOE’s pronouncements on the moratorium coverage so far should shelve nine coal projects with a total capacity of 5.6 GW [or 5,600 megawatts], comprising 40 percent of all pipeline coal capacity,” CEED said.
The group urged the DOE to expand the moratorium to cover the remaining 8,100 MW of new coal-fired capacity already in the pipeline.
“Many of these projects have not or have barely started construction due to the pandemic and yearslong resistance from impacted communities, electricity consumers, and other stakeholders,” CEED noted.
The DOE has yet to flesh out the new policy direction— the moratorium on coal projects—that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi first made public in a speech delivered on Tuesday during the during the second Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables hosted in Singapore.
However, energy officials have clarified that the moratorium simply meant the DOE would no longer accept applications for new projects while those that the DOE has already endorsed could still proceed.
Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella told reporters that projects already “committed” and those that have secured environmental clearance certificates and other permits “are probably already endorsed [by the DOE] and thus may proceed.”
The CEED said the DOE’s next step following the announcement of the moratorium should be the mandatory retirement of operating old coal plants at the end of their economic life span.
The DOE should also impose an early retirement of newly operating coal plants by the end of this decade, which means a renegotiation of their power supply agreements.
https://business.inquirer.net/310716/doe-urged-to-put-flesh-to-vow-of-scrapping-coal-plants
The Department of Energy (DOE) should make good its promise to put a halt to new coal projects and push forward in this direction by clipping the life of currently operating plants and retiring aging ones, according to the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
The environmentalist think tank said in a statement the moratorium on greenfield coal projects “signals the country’s first step in exiting coal” and would help efforts to build a more sustainable power system resilient to structural changes and flexible to new, indigenous and cleaner technological innovations.
“While it has yet to release an official order, the DOE’s pronouncements on the moratorium coverage so far should shelve nine coal projects with a total capacity of 5.6 GW [or 5,600 megawatts], comprising 40 percent of all pipeline coal capacity,” CEED said.
The group urged the DOE to expand the moratorium to cover the remaining 8,100 MW of new coal-fired capacity already in the pipeline.
“Many of these projects have not or have barely started construction due to the pandemic and yearslong resistance from impacted communities, electricity consumers, and other stakeholders,” CEED noted.
The DOE has yet to flesh out the new policy direction— the moratorium on coal projects—that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi first made public in a speech delivered on Tuesday during the during the second Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables hosted in Singapore.
However, energy officials have clarified that the moratorium simply meant the DOE would no longer accept applications for new projects while those that the DOE has already endorsed could still proceed.
Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella told reporters that projects already “committed” and those that have secured environmental clearance certificates and other permits “are probably already endorsed [by the DOE] and thus may proceed.”
The CEED said the DOE’s next step following the announcement of the moratorium should be the mandatory retirement of operating old coal plants at the end of their economic life span.
The DOE should also impose an early retirement of newly operating coal plants by the end of this decade, which means a renegotiation of their power supply agreements.
SMC sees LNG plant operational in 2 years
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 30, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/30/2053218/smc-sees-lng-plant-operational-2-years
MANILA, Philippines — Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is boosting its power generation efforts as it targets to start operations of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Batangas in two years.
“In 24 months, you will see the LNG plant running. The first line is 850 megawatts (MW) and the rest of the three lines will follow, if there is demand,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang told reporters in a virtual briefing.
Ang said the group’s energy unit, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.,is shifting toward LNG, adding that it intends to build around three lines of LNG with a capacity of 850 MW each in Batangas, in the same area where its 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant is located.
He said the three lines will be the first stage of the project, hitting 2,550 MW capacity.
“Later on we can add another 2,550 MW so it will become 5,100 MW. It can be even bigger if there is a need for it,” Ang said, adding that it is easier and cheaper to put up an LNG plant these days.
Ang said the development of the LNG power plant would push through even if the company does not win Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s competitive selection process (CSP) bidding for 1,800 MW of greenfield baseload capacity for 2024-2025.
Under the CSP, the winning bidders will secure a 20-year power supply agreement(PSA) with Meralco. The opening of bids is scheduled in January 2021.
Ang said if the company wins the bid, it would be able to supply the power requirement quickly.
“In 24 months, that plant will be up and running whether we win the Meralco CSP or not,”Ang said.
“Even if we don’t win the bidding, the 850-MW, we can supply that to other cooperatives,” Ang said, adding this can also be used to replace supply from some of the aging power plants.
Apart from LNG, Ang said the company would push through with its renewable energy initiatives such as hydro and solar.
“For hydro, we are ready to put up around 5,000 MW. They’re all in various stages,” Ang said.
“As long as there is demand, we will have hydro,” he said.
Ang said the company is also looking at solar energy as it plans to install solar rooftops in its P734-billion Bulacan airport project.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/30/2053218/smc-sees-lng-plant-operational-2-years
MANILA, Philippines — Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is boosting its power generation efforts as it targets to start operations of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Batangas in two years.
“In 24 months, you will see the LNG plant running. The first line is 850 megawatts (MW) and the rest of the three lines will follow, if there is demand,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang told reporters in a virtual briefing.
Ang said the group’s energy unit, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.,is shifting toward LNG, adding that it intends to build around three lines of LNG with a capacity of 850 MW each in Batangas, in the same area where its 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant is located.
He said the three lines will be the first stage of the project, hitting 2,550 MW capacity.
“Later on we can add another 2,550 MW so it will become 5,100 MW. It can be even bigger if there is a need for it,” Ang said, adding that it is easier and cheaper to put up an LNG plant these days.
Ang said the development of the LNG power plant would push through even if the company does not win Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s competitive selection process (CSP) bidding for 1,800 MW of greenfield baseload capacity for 2024-2025.
Under the CSP, the winning bidders will secure a 20-year power supply agreement(PSA) with Meralco. The opening of bids is scheduled in January 2021.
Ang said if the company wins the bid, it would be able to supply the power requirement quickly.
“In 24 months, that plant will be up and running whether we win the Meralco CSP or not,”Ang said.
“Even if we don’t win the bidding, the 850-MW, we can supply that to other cooperatives,” Ang said, adding this can also be used to replace supply from some of the aging power plants.
Apart from LNG, Ang said the company would push through with its renewable energy initiatives such as hydro and solar.
“For hydro, we are ready to put up around 5,000 MW. They’re all in various stages,” Ang said.
“As long as there is demand, we will have hydro,” he said.
Ang said the company is also looking at solar energy as it plans to install solar rooftops in its P734-billion Bulacan airport project.
Solar Philippines eyes more partnerships
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 30, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/30/2053225/solar-philippines-eyes-more-partnerships
MANILA, Philippines — Solar Philippines is eyeing to forge more partnerships to accelerate the development of solar projects, driven by the strengthened push for renewable energy in the country.
In a statement, the company said it is gearing toward a new strategic direction after the Department of Energy (DOE)’s declaration of a moratorium on new coal projects and call to accelerate the development of renewable energy,
As part of its new strategy, Solar Philippines said it is emphasizing the value of partnerships.
“While we once focused on competing with others in the power industry, we are now collaborating with several local and foreign partners, harnessing their strengths across all our projects to take solar in the Philippines to the next level,” Solar Philippines founder Leandro Leviste said.
Solar Philippines has been increasingly focused on forging partnerships in recent years.
In December 2018, it welcomed one of the world’s largest power companies, Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), as a partner in its 63-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Batangas, Kepco’s first renewable energy project in Southeast Asia.
The company also inked a partnership with the Razon Group’s Prime Infra in June to develop a pipeline of projects, representing the largest solar joint venture established in the country.
This includes completing the 200-MW solar farm in Tarlac, the country’s largest solar project to date.
Apart from the push for partnerships, Solar Philippines is also starting a new company to focus on investments in provincial real estate, which will enable them to focus on developing projects that are symbiotic with the property.
Solar Philippines is also bringing onboard professional management to lead the company in this new chapter, as a step towards becoming a more widely-held public company.
“With these changes, we are more optimistic than ever that we and our partners can deliver a portfolio of projects that will make the Philippines a leader in the global energy transition,”Leviste said.
At present, Solar Philippines is developing projects with a total capacity of over 10 gigawatts in over a dozen provinces.
Groups push probe on Quezon plant’s generation charges
posted October 29, 2020 at 08:15 pm by Manila Standard Business
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338133/groups-push-probe-on-quezon-plant-s-generation-charges.html
Consumer and non-government organizations asked the government to investigate the alleged high generation charges passed on by Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. to Manila Electric Co.’s consumers.
Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente Consumer Alliance Inc. convener David Celestra Tan and Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares said in a statement that based on the computation of their analysts, QPPL’S generation charges should have gone down because of lower coal prices.
“There is a lot that needs to be explained in the Quezon Power charges that are passed on to the consumers. In January, its rate was P6.5919 per kwh [kilowatt-hour]. Inexplicably, it went up higher instead of lower to P6.723 per kwh despite coal prices coming down by 28 percent during that period,” Colmenares said.
He said this should be investigated by Congress or the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission.
QPPL, controlled by Egco Group of Thailand, owns the 460-megawatt Mauban coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon.
Celestra-Tan said QPPL’s pricing mechanism and indexing and coal procurement should be looked at as the company allegedly charged 9 percent to 12 percent higher generation charges than the other coal plants this year.
“If coal goes down, the generation rate should come down if not immediately, at least in the following months,” he said.
Meralco, however, assured that its retail rates went down to the lowest level in years.
Meralco said the average generation charge declined as a result of the implementation of the power supply agreements which were concluded under the competitive selection process in December 2019, the force majeure claims of Meralco against its power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of end-September, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market rates, the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
“In fact, at around P8 per kilowatt-hour, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year to date comparison. The generation charge on the other hand has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented power supply agreements which took effect last year,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said earlier.
“All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements,” Zaldarriaga said. Alena Mae S. Flores
He said Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by ERC.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338133/groups-push-probe-on-quezon-plant-s-generation-charges.html
Consumer and non-government organizations asked the government to investigate the alleged high generation charges passed on by Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. to Manila Electric Co.’s consumers.
Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente Consumer Alliance Inc. convener David Celestra Tan and Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares said in a statement that based on the computation of their analysts, QPPL’S generation charges should have gone down because of lower coal prices.
“There is a lot that needs to be explained in the Quezon Power charges that are passed on to the consumers. In January, its rate was P6.5919 per kwh [kilowatt-hour]. Inexplicably, it went up higher instead of lower to P6.723 per kwh despite coal prices coming down by 28 percent during that period,” Colmenares said.
He said this should be investigated by Congress or the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission.
QPPL, controlled by Egco Group of Thailand, owns the 460-megawatt Mauban coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon.
Celestra-Tan said QPPL’s pricing mechanism and indexing and coal procurement should be looked at as the company allegedly charged 9 percent to 12 percent higher generation charges than the other coal plants this year.
“If coal goes down, the generation rate should come down if not immediately, at least in the following months,” he said.
Meralco, however, assured that its retail rates went down to the lowest level in years.
Meralco said the average generation charge declined as a result of the implementation of the power supply agreements which were concluded under the competitive selection process in December 2019, the force majeure claims of Meralco against its power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of end-September, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market rates, the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
“In fact, at around P8 per kilowatt-hour, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year to date comparison. The generation charge on the other hand has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented power supply agreements which took effect last year,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said earlier.
“All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements,” Zaldarriaga said. Alena Mae S. Flores
He said Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by ERC.
‘No-disconnection’ policy extended
posted October 29, 2020 at 08:00 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338134/-no-disconnection-policy-extended.html
Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday ordered distribution utilities to stop any disconnection on account of non-payment of bills until Dec. 31, 2020.
It said in an advisory the order would cover consumers with monthly consumption not higher than twice the approved maximum lifeline consumption level.
This means that Manila Electric Co. customers with a monthly consumption of 200 kilowatt-hours who failed to settle their bill would not face disconnection until the end of the year.
The ERC said this was in line with the enactment of Republic Act No. 114941 or the “Bayanihan to Recover As One Act” (Bayanihan 2).
It said that for all customers, DUs and retail electricity suppliers should implement a minimum of 30-day grace period on all payments falling due within the period of enhanced community quarantine and modified enhanced community quarantine without incurring interests, penalties and other charges.
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Energy group supports ban on new coal plants
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 29, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/29/2052959/energy-group-supports-ban-new-coal-plants
MANILA, Philippines — The Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) has welcomed the moratorium on the endorsement of new greenfield coal power plants, but urged for the further phase-out of coal plants in the country to be able to provide cleaner energy sources.
On Tuesday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi declared a moratorium on the endorsement of new greenfield coal power plants as the country eyes a more flexible power supply mix to accommodate more renewable energy (RE) sources.
CEED said the ban is long overdue and would block off at least 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of coal in the pipeline. The group said the move can be the gateway for a future where all Filipinos are given access to clean and affordable energy.
“However, the DOE cannot not stop here. If it is to make up for the years it stood by its so-called ‘technology-neutral’ policy, it has to follow up with phase-out plans for the currently installed 9.8 GW of coal in the country,”CEED said.
“Without this, the suffering of coal-affected communities, soaring electricity prices, and fossil fuel pollution would continue to proliferate,” it said.
Data from the DOE show that in 2019, coal accounted for 54.6 percent of the country’s power generation mix. This was followed by natural gas with a 21.1 percent share.
Renewable energy sources geothermal and hydro accounted for 10.1 percent and 7.6 percent share, respectively, while other RE accounted for 3.1 percent.
Oil had the smallest share at 3.5 percent.
Meanwhile, consumer group Power for People coalition (P4P) said it also welcomes the move, but has reservations on how it would affect power rates as the country seeks to recover from the coal pandemic.
“The long-term benefits of coal would be complemented by decisive action on the part of the government to also address the short-term effects of the bill shock which happened during the enhanced community quarantine period. Only with concrete action on both the short-term and long-term can the DOE begin to truly say it is “prosumer”,” the group said.
The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said it fully supports the moratorium imposed by the DOE as it works toward enabling competition in the energy sector and provides reliable and cost effective power, while giving preference to indigenous and clean energy sources.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the risks of overdependence on inflexible baseload plants, mainly coal, as well as the need for the country’s transition to a modern, flexible power system utilizing renewable energy with near zero marginal cost,” ICSC senior policy advisor Pedro Maniego Jr.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/29/2052959/energy-group-supports-ban-new-coal-plants
MANILA, Philippines — The Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) has welcomed the moratorium on the endorsement of new greenfield coal power plants, but urged for the further phase-out of coal plants in the country to be able to provide cleaner energy sources.
On Tuesday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi declared a moratorium on the endorsement of new greenfield coal power plants as the country eyes a more flexible power supply mix to accommodate more renewable energy (RE) sources.
CEED said the ban is long overdue and would block off at least 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of coal in the pipeline. The group said the move can be the gateway for a future where all Filipinos are given access to clean and affordable energy.
“However, the DOE cannot not stop here. If it is to make up for the years it stood by its so-called ‘technology-neutral’ policy, it has to follow up with phase-out plans for the currently installed 9.8 GW of coal in the country,”CEED said.
“Without this, the suffering of coal-affected communities, soaring electricity prices, and fossil fuel pollution would continue to proliferate,” it said.
Data from the DOE show that in 2019, coal accounted for 54.6 percent of the country’s power generation mix. This was followed by natural gas with a 21.1 percent share.
Renewable energy sources geothermal and hydro accounted for 10.1 percent and 7.6 percent share, respectively, while other RE accounted for 3.1 percent.
Oil had the smallest share at 3.5 percent.
Meanwhile, consumer group Power for People coalition (P4P) said it also welcomes the move, but has reservations on how it would affect power rates as the country seeks to recover from the coal pandemic.
“The long-term benefits of coal would be complemented by decisive action on the part of the government to also address the short-term effects of the bill shock which happened during the enhanced community quarantine period. Only with concrete action on both the short-term and long-term can the DOE begin to truly say it is “prosumer”,” the group said.
The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said it fully supports the moratorium imposed by the DOE as it works toward enabling competition in the energy sector and provides reliable and cost effective power, while giving preference to indigenous and clean energy sources.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the risks of overdependence on inflexible baseload plants, mainly coal, as well as the need for the country’s transition to a modern, flexible power system utilizing renewable energy with near zero marginal cost,” ICSC senior policy advisor Pedro Maniego Jr.
Power firms support shift from coal to clean energy
posted October 28, 2020 at 07:50 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338051/power-firms-support-shift-from-coal-to-clean-energy.html
Energy companies, environmental groups and consumers on Wednesday welcomed the Department of Energy’s declaration of a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi issued the moratorium advisory in the wake of the agency’s most recent assessment that called for a shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang said the company would comply with the moratorium but did not give further details, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. chairman Isidro Consunji said the moratorium would not affect their coal projects with permits.
“[It is] hard to conclude long-term effect to electricity prices at the moment, but will probably go up,” Consunji said.
Aboitiz Power Corp. also expressed support to the DOE’s efforts to make the Philippine energy system more flexible, resilient and sustainable.
“Aboitiz Power’s growth strategy for the next 10 years remains the same, which is to significantly grow our renewables portfolio, Cleanergy. We have been a pioneer of renewable energy in the country. Our diversification into thermal technologies was primarily driven by the country’s need for a reliable, accessible and affordable power supply,” Aboitiz Power Corp. president Emmanuel Rubio said.
Rubio said having the right balance of various energy sources was key to addressing the energy dilemma of energy security, equity and environmental sustainability. He said the balanced strategy was at the core of Aboitiz Power and would continue to fuel the company’s growth in the next 10 years and beyond.
“We remain committed to achieving our goal of a more balanced energy mix or an almost 50:50 Cleanergy and thermal capacities by 2030,” Rubio said.
AC Energy Inc. president and chief executive Eric Francia said DOE’s move “is a bold and progressive policy.”
“Quite commendable as it demonstrates our government’s commitment to energy security and sustainability. AC Energy is fully supportive of Secretary [Alfonso] Cusi’s direction, and we will continue to scale up our renewable energy investments in the country,” Francia said.
Meralco PowerGen Corp. said the moratorium would not affect its power projects as the company was implementing high-efficiency, low-emission technologies.
”If you are referring to Atimonan, it already has DOE approval as a committed coal project and also a certified energy project of national significance from DOE. In addition, it already has DENR ECC approval and NGCP connection agreement. So the moratorium will not affect our Atimonan project. Also we are implementing only HELE technology on our coal projects,” Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson said.
Meralco PowerGen is developing the 1,200-megawatt ultra-supercritical coal plant in Atimonan, Quezon.
Power for People Coalition welcomed the moratorium on DOE endorsements for greenfield coal power plants but raised reservations on how it would affect power rates as the country seeks to recover from the pandemic.
“The long-term benefits of coal would be complemented by decisive action on the part of the government to also address the short-term effects of the bill shock which happened during the enhanced community quarantine period. Only with concrete action on both the short-term and long-term can the DOE begin to truly say it is “prosumer,” P4P said in a statement.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development also lauded the moratorium. “This long overdue pronouncement would block off at least 10.7 gigawatts of coal in the pipeline and can be the gateway for a future where all Filipinos are given access to clean and affordable energy,” it said.
The CEED also called for a phase-out plan for the currently installed 9.8 gigawatts of coal in the country.
Environmental group Greenpeace said to ensure the country’s rapid transition to renewable energy, “the DOE must take this further by enacting a permanent moratorium that includes not just coal but also gas projects in the pipeline, and jumpstart a phase out plan for existing coal and other fossil fuel facilities.”
Greenpeace also expressed dismay on the decision to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of geothermal projects.
“Geothermal projects must be approached with extreme caution due to their impacts on communities and ecosystems. Data from a recent Greenpeace report shows that the Philippines can easily achieve 50 percent RE power generation by 2030 solely through solar and wind capacity,” it said.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338051/power-firms-support-shift-from-coal-to-clean-energy.html
Energy companies, environmental groups and consumers on Wednesday welcomed the Department of Energy’s declaration of a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi issued the moratorium advisory in the wake of the agency’s most recent assessment that called for a shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang said the company would comply with the moratorium but did not give further details, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. chairman Isidro Consunji said the moratorium would not affect their coal projects with permits.
“[It is] hard to conclude long-term effect to electricity prices at the moment, but will probably go up,” Consunji said.
Aboitiz Power Corp. also expressed support to the DOE’s efforts to make the Philippine energy system more flexible, resilient and sustainable.
“Aboitiz Power’s growth strategy for the next 10 years remains the same, which is to significantly grow our renewables portfolio, Cleanergy. We have been a pioneer of renewable energy in the country. Our diversification into thermal technologies was primarily driven by the country’s need for a reliable, accessible and affordable power supply,” Aboitiz Power Corp. president Emmanuel Rubio said.
Rubio said having the right balance of various energy sources was key to addressing the energy dilemma of energy security, equity and environmental sustainability. He said the balanced strategy was at the core of Aboitiz Power and would continue to fuel the company’s growth in the next 10 years and beyond.
“We remain committed to achieving our goal of a more balanced energy mix or an almost 50:50 Cleanergy and thermal capacities by 2030,” Rubio said.
AC Energy Inc. president and chief executive Eric Francia said DOE’s move “is a bold and progressive policy.”
“Quite commendable as it demonstrates our government’s commitment to energy security and sustainability. AC Energy is fully supportive of Secretary [Alfonso] Cusi’s direction, and we will continue to scale up our renewable energy investments in the country,” Francia said.
Meralco PowerGen Corp. said the moratorium would not affect its power projects as the company was implementing high-efficiency, low-emission technologies.
”If you are referring to Atimonan, it already has DOE approval as a committed coal project and also a certified energy project of national significance from DOE. In addition, it already has DENR ECC approval and NGCP connection agreement. So the moratorium will not affect our Atimonan project. Also we are implementing only HELE technology on our coal projects,” Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson said.
Meralco PowerGen is developing the 1,200-megawatt ultra-supercritical coal plant in Atimonan, Quezon.
Power for People Coalition welcomed the moratorium on DOE endorsements for greenfield coal power plants but raised reservations on how it would affect power rates as the country seeks to recover from the pandemic.
“The long-term benefits of coal would be complemented by decisive action on the part of the government to also address the short-term effects of the bill shock which happened during the enhanced community quarantine period. Only with concrete action on both the short-term and long-term can the DOE begin to truly say it is “prosumer,” P4P said in a statement.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development also lauded the moratorium. “This long overdue pronouncement would block off at least 10.7 gigawatts of coal in the pipeline and can be the gateway for a future where all Filipinos are given access to clean and affordable energy,” it said.
The CEED also called for a phase-out plan for the currently installed 9.8 gigawatts of coal in the country.
Environmental group Greenpeace said to ensure the country’s rapid transition to renewable energy, “the DOE must take this further by enacting a permanent moratorium that includes not just coal but also gas projects in the pipeline, and jumpstart a phase out plan for existing coal and other fossil fuel facilities.”
Greenpeace also expressed dismay on the decision to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of geothermal projects.
“Geothermal projects must be approached with extreme caution due to their impacts on communities and ecosystems. Data from a recent Greenpeace report shows that the Philippines can easily achieve 50 percent RE power generation by 2030 solely through solar and wind capacity,” it said.
Semirara’s nine-month income declined 64% to P3 billion
posted October 28, 2020 at 05:54 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338036/semirara-s-nine-month-income-declined-64-to-p3-billion.html
Semirara Mining and Power Corp. said Wednesday consolidated net income after tax declined 64 percent in the first nine months to P3 billion from P8.2 billion in the same period last year on weak market conditions.
SMPC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange third-quarter net income after tax also fell by 71 percent to P750 million from P2.58 billion in the same period in 2019.
It said that on a standalone basis, core profits of coal segment declined by 57 percent in the nine-month period to P3 billion.
SMPC subsidiary Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. booked a net loss of P232 million from January to September.
Subsidiary Sem-Calaca Power Corp. turned around with a P174-million profit in the nine-month period from a loss of P882 million last year as the life extension program was already completed.
SMPC sold 2.7 million metric tons of coal in the third quarter, an 8-percent improvement from 2.5 million in the same quarter last year with composite average price of P1,594 per MT.
It said that in the nine-month period, coal sales went down by 30 percent to 8.4 million MT from 12.1 million MT a year earlier.
Effective composite average coal price went down by 20 percent year-on-year from P2,133 per MT in 2019 to P1,712 per MT this year.
“Coal production is not significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as it posted 10.9 million MT from 12 million MT produced during same period last year with 9-percent drop year-on-year,” SMPC said.
It said that in the power segment, the 300-megawatt coal plant under Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. booked additional contracted capacity of 150 MW. bringing its contracted capacity to 221 MW.
The net energy generation in the third quarter improved 81 percent to 389 gigawatt-hours from 215 gWh in the second quarter.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338036/semirara-s-nine-month-income-declined-64-to-p3-billion.html
Semirara Mining and Power Corp. said Wednesday consolidated net income after tax declined 64 percent in the first nine months to P3 billion from P8.2 billion in the same period last year on weak market conditions.
SMPC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange third-quarter net income after tax also fell by 71 percent to P750 million from P2.58 billion in the same period in 2019.
It said that on a standalone basis, core profits of coal segment declined by 57 percent in the nine-month period to P3 billion.
SMPC subsidiary Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. booked a net loss of P232 million from January to September.
Subsidiary Sem-Calaca Power Corp. turned around with a P174-million profit in the nine-month period from a loss of P882 million last year as the life extension program was already completed.
SMPC sold 2.7 million metric tons of coal in the third quarter, an 8-percent improvement from 2.5 million in the same quarter last year with composite average price of P1,594 per MT.
It said that in the nine-month period, coal sales went down by 30 percent to 8.4 million MT from 12.1 million MT a year earlier.
Effective composite average coal price went down by 20 percent year-on-year from P2,133 per MT in 2019 to P1,712 per MT this year.
“Coal production is not significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as it posted 10.9 million MT from 12 million MT produced during same period last year with 9-percent drop year-on-year,” SMPC said.
It said that in the power segment, the 300-megawatt coal plant under Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. booked additional contracted capacity of 150 MW. bringing its contracted capacity to 221 MW.
The net energy generation in the third quarter improved 81 percent to 389 gigawatt-hours from 215 gWh in the second quarter.
SMC sets sights on hydropower
By Lenie Lectura October 28, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/10/28/smc-sets-sights-on-hydropower/
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) unveiled plans to develop some 5,000 megawatts (MW) of hydropower projects to support its clean energy portfolio.
SMC President Ramon Ang said the company’s power unit, SMC Global Power Holdings Inc., is determined to pursue various renewable energy (RE) projects to help ramp up the country’s RE capacity as its share in the country’s generation mix fell at 20 percent last year from 23.38 percent in 2018.
“For hydro, we are ready to put up about 5,000 megawatts, but these are on various stages. I can’t say exactly where because many might copy our plans. Tinitignan muna natin saan may demand then doon tayo ready magtatayo. Power business is always based on demand,” said Ang.
In 2018, Ang announced that the company was targeting up to 10,000 MW of new RE capacity in the next 10 years.
Aside from hydro, the company is also interested in pursuing solar and wind power projects across the country. The wind projects are being eyed in Bataan and Ilocos Norte.
SMC, he said then, has formed a team that conducted research on where best to put up the company’s planned RE projects.
“We are challenging ourselves to be able to operate in the most environmentally responsible manner, while taking into consideration energy security and affordability to the consumers. Initiatives to achieve this objective are under way and I’m proud to say, we are making good headway,” Ang had said.
Ang also gave an update of the company’s planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which would be built in phases.
“Yung power generation ng SMC, we are now switching to LNG. We intend to put up 2,250MW in the first stage and another 2,550MW later on,” he said.
For the first stage of its LNG project, Ang said three 850MW units would be built. “It will be 850MW for the first line. There will be 3 lines of 850MW. But if there will be no demand, it will be one 850MW for the meantime.”
SMC plans to sell the gas output to the Manila Electric Co. should it win the upcoming competitive selection process.
“The LNG plant can be done in 24 months, whether we win or not in the CSP. If we don’t we can supply the ECs [electric cooperatives] or replace aging power plants,” he added.
The company’s planned Ilijan LNG Terminal will be developed by AG&P LNG Terminals and Logistics, with the engineering, procurement and construction work to be handled by AG&P Construction Solutions.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/10/28/smc-sets-sights-on-hydropower/
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) unveiled plans to develop some 5,000 megawatts (MW) of hydropower projects to support its clean energy portfolio.
SMC President Ramon Ang said the company’s power unit, SMC Global Power Holdings Inc., is determined to pursue various renewable energy (RE) projects to help ramp up the country’s RE capacity as its share in the country’s generation mix fell at 20 percent last year from 23.38 percent in 2018.
“For hydro, we are ready to put up about 5,000 megawatts, but these are on various stages. I can’t say exactly where because many might copy our plans. Tinitignan muna natin saan may demand then doon tayo ready magtatayo. Power business is always based on demand,” said Ang.
In 2018, Ang announced that the company was targeting up to 10,000 MW of new RE capacity in the next 10 years.
Aside from hydro, the company is also interested in pursuing solar and wind power projects across the country. The wind projects are being eyed in Bataan and Ilocos Norte.
SMC, he said then, has formed a team that conducted research on where best to put up the company’s planned RE projects.
“We are challenging ourselves to be able to operate in the most environmentally responsible manner, while taking into consideration energy security and affordability to the consumers. Initiatives to achieve this objective are under way and I’m proud to say, we are making good headway,” Ang had said.
Ang also gave an update of the company’s planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which would be built in phases.
“Yung power generation ng SMC, we are now switching to LNG. We intend to put up 2,250MW in the first stage and another 2,550MW later on,” he said.
For the first stage of its LNG project, Ang said three 850MW units would be built. “It will be 850MW for the first line. There will be 3 lines of 850MW. But if there will be no demand, it will be one 850MW for the meantime.”
SMC plans to sell the gas output to the Manila Electric Co. should it win the upcoming competitive selection process.
“The LNG plant can be done in 24 months, whether we win or not in the CSP. If we don’t we can supply the ECs [electric cooperatives] or replace aging power plants,” he added.
The company’s planned Ilijan LNG Terminal will be developed by AG&P LNG Terminals and Logistics, with the engineering, procurement and construction work to be handled by AG&P Construction Solutions.
San Miguel to scrap pending coal power plants after gov't ban
Ian Nicolas Cigaral (Philstar.com) - October 28, 2020 - 12:10pm
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/28/2052905/san-miguel-scrap-pending-coal-power-plants-after-govt-ban
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE 1:20 p.m., Oct. 28) — San Miguel Corp. is abandoning future plans to construct coal power plants after the government enforced a moratorium on coal-powered generators.
Asked if the country’s largest conglomerate would still proceed with its coal power plans, Ramon Ang, president and chief operating officer, told Philstar.com in a text message: “No problem. We always follow rules.” He did not elaborate.
The energy department will not be accepting applications for the construction of new coal power plants, a policy shift that also came with allowing 100% foreign ownership on geothermal energy plants worth at least $50 million.
The moratorium greatly affects San Miguel’s power ambitions. As of July, energy department data showed the company’s subsidiaries are eyeing to build coal-fired power plants with cumulative capacity of 3,628 megawatts. That accounted for 37% of the 9,803 MW coal projects being explored, but yet to be submitted to government for approval.
Broken down, data showed SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. was planning coal projects with 2,400 MW capacity in Luzon, 600 MW in the Visayas and 628 MW in Mindanao.
Energy stocks rise
Separately, Aboitiz Power Corp. said the government order will not affect the company’s long-term plans. “AboitizPower’s growth strategy for the next 10 years remains the same, which is to significantly grow our renewables portfolio, Cleanergy,” the company said in a statement.
“We remain committed to achieving our goal of a more balanced energy mix or an almost 50:50 Cleanergy and thermal capacities by 2030,” it added.
Energy stocks were among the most actively traded shares on Wednesday as investors digested the government’s policy changes. As of 11:34 a.m., shares in First Gen Corp. were trading up 10.42%, while AC Energy Philippines Inc. of Ayala Corp. gained 0.52%.
“It's a bold and progressive policy...AC Energy is fully supportive of (Energy) Sec. (Alfonso) Cusi's direction and we will continue to scale up our renewable energy investments in the country,” John Eric Francia, AC Energy president and chief executive, said in a statement. The company previously announced plans to fully offload coal investments by 2030.
Lopez-led First Gen did not respond to request for comment.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/28/2052905/san-miguel-scrap-pending-coal-power-plants-after-govt-ban
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE 1:20 p.m., Oct. 28) — San Miguel Corp. is abandoning future plans to construct coal power plants after the government enforced a moratorium on coal-powered generators.
Asked if the country’s largest conglomerate would still proceed with its coal power plans, Ramon Ang, president and chief operating officer, told Philstar.com in a text message: “No problem. We always follow rules.” He did not elaborate.
The energy department will not be accepting applications for the construction of new coal power plants, a policy shift that also came with allowing 100% foreign ownership on geothermal energy plants worth at least $50 million.
The moratorium greatly affects San Miguel’s power ambitions. As of July, energy department data showed the company’s subsidiaries are eyeing to build coal-fired power plants with cumulative capacity of 3,628 megawatts. That accounted for 37% of the 9,803 MW coal projects being explored, but yet to be submitted to government for approval.
Broken down, data showed SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. was planning coal projects with 2,400 MW capacity in Luzon, 600 MW in the Visayas and 628 MW in Mindanao.
Energy stocks rise
Separately, Aboitiz Power Corp. said the government order will not affect the company’s long-term plans. “AboitizPower’s growth strategy for the next 10 years remains the same, which is to significantly grow our renewables portfolio, Cleanergy,” the company said in a statement.
“We remain committed to achieving our goal of a more balanced energy mix or an almost 50:50 Cleanergy and thermal capacities by 2030,” it added.
Energy stocks were among the most actively traded shares on Wednesday as investors digested the government’s policy changes. As of 11:34 a.m., shares in First Gen Corp. were trading up 10.42%, while AC Energy Philippines Inc. of Ayala Corp. gained 0.52%.
“It's a bold and progressive policy...AC Energy is fully supportive of (Energy) Sec. (Alfonso) Cusi's direction and we will continue to scale up our renewable energy investments in the country,” John Eric Francia, AC Energy president and chief executive, said in a statement. The company previously announced plans to fully offload coal investments by 2030.
Lopez-led First Gen did not respond to request for comment.
PSALM demands payment of P671 million in overdue debt
Mary Grace Padin (The Philippine Star) - October 28, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/28/2052703/psalm-demands-payment-p671-million-overdue-debt
MANILA, Philippines — State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has issued notices demanding two firms to pay their overdue obligations amounting to P671.16 million, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
According to the DOF, PSALM president and chief executive officer Irene Besido Garcia and acting vice president for finance Manuel Marcos Villalon sent final demand letters to First Bay Power Corp. (FBPC) and Abra Electric Cooperative Inc. (ABRECO), giving them seven days from the receipt of the letters to pay their arrears.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi were furnished copies of the final demand letters, which were dated Aug. 24, 2020.
According to the finance department, FBPC has overdue obligations amounting to P35.15 million, while ABRECO has arrears worth P599.13 million on its power account and about P36.89 million in unremitted universal charge payments.
The DOF said ABRECO’s overdue power account covers a period of 10 years, consisting of restructured account, interest and penalty, value-added tax (VAT) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved power rate adjustments.
It noted that PSALM previously sent several written demand letters to the cooperative asking for the settlement of its outstanding power account obligations.
“However, up to this date, ABRECO continues to ignore the demand letters,” Garcia said.
The DOF said ABRECO committed to propose a payment option for its outstanding power account dues on Dec. 9 last year and later on entered into restructuring agreements with the agency, but the cooperative breached all of them.
Meanwhile, the DOF said PSALM’s computations of the cooperative’s unremitted universal charge collections were based only on its submitted reports from February 2003 to December 2015, and do not yet include unremitted collections from 2016 to the present.
The DOF said PSALM previously sent letters to ABRECO urging it to remit in full its universal charge collections, but the letters were also ignored.
On the other hand, the DOF said FBPC incurred arrears over a seven-year period as of July 31, 2020, covering power bill, interest and VAT, and ERC-approved power rate adjustments.
Garcia said FBPC’s overdue account would continue to accumulate interest until it is fully paid.
Earlier, Garcia said the non-payment of obligations pressed PSALM to resort to borrowings in order to fulfill its financial obligations to National Power Corp.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, in response, instructed PSALM to pursue collection efforts against delinquent independent power producer administrators (IPPAs) and electric cooperatives, and use all remedies available to prevent additional borrowing costs for the government.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/28/2052703/psalm-demands-payment-p671-million-overdue-debt
MANILA, Philippines — State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has issued notices demanding two firms to pay their overdue obligations amounting to P671.16 million, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
According to the DOF, PSALM president and chief executive officer Irene Besido Garcia and acting vice president for finance Manuel Marcos Villalon sent final demand letters to First Bay Power Corp. (FBPC) and Abra Electric Cooperative Inc. (ABRECO), giving them seven days from the receipt of the letters to pay their arrears.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi were furnished copies of the final demand letters, which were dated Aug. 24, 2020.
According to the finance department, FBPC has overdue obligations amounting to P35.15 million, while ABRECO has arrears worth P599.13 million on its power account and about P36.89 million in unremitted universal charge payments.
The DOF said ABRECO’s overdue power account covers a period of 10 years, consisting of restructured account, interest and penalty, value-added tax (VAT) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved power rate adjustments.
It noted that PSALM previously sent several written demand letters to the cooperative asking for the settlement of its outstanding power account obligations.
“However, up to this date, ABRECO continues to ignore the demand letters,” Garcia said.
The DOF said ABRECO committed to propose a payment option for its outstanding power account dues on Dec. 9 last year and later on entered into restructuring agreements with the agency, but the cooperative breached all of them.
Meanwhile, the DOF said PSALM’s computations of the cooperative’s unremitted universal charge collections were based only on its submitted reports from February 2003 to December 2015, and do not yet include unremitted collections from 2016 to the present.
The DOF said PSALM previously sent letters to ABRECO urging it to remit in full its universal charge collections, but the letters were also ignored.
On the other hand, the DOF said FBPC incurred arrears over a seven-year period as of July 31, 2020, covering power bill, interest and VAT, and ERC-approved power rate adjustments.
Garcia said FBPC’s overdue account would continue to accumulate interest until it is fully paid.
Earlier, Garcia said the non-payment of obligations pressed PSALM to resort to borrowings in order to fulfill its financial obligations to National Power Corp.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, in response, instructed PSALM to pursue collection efforts against delinquent independent power producer administrators (IPPAs) and electric cooperatives, and use all remedies available to prevent additional borrowing costs for the government.
DOE declares moratorium on endorsing coal power plants
posted October 27, 2020 at 07:50 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/337940/doe-declares-moratorium-on-endorsing-coal-power-plants.html
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following the periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
Cusi said in a statement the Department of Energy’s most recent assessment revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
He said this will help build a more sustainable power system that is resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner and indigenous technological innovations.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country’s energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Cusi said.
Cusi made the announcement in a speech for the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables held as part of the Singapore International Energy Week 2020.
DOE spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said coal projects listed under the department’s committed power projects were not included in the moratorium because they already secured endorsements.
“We are guiding our investors in advance. As the DOE makes periodic assessments, we can see the balanced way forward,” Fuentebella said.
He said the DOE would issue an advisory to investors for now, but the detailed discussion would follow.
Among the committed power projects in Luzon have a combined capacity of 5,401 megawatts. Of the total, 58.2 percent or 3,436 MW are coal-fired power plants, according to the latest report of the DOE.
These include the AES Masinloc Power Partners Co. Inc.’s 300-MW coal plant expansion in Zambales; 1,336-MW coal plant of GN Power Dinginin Coal Plant Ltd. Co. in Mariveles, Bataan; 1,200-MW coal plant of Atimonan One Energy in Quezon; and Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc.’s 600-MW coal plant in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
Cusi said the Philippines is now allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal exploration, development and utilization projects.
Large-scale geothermal projects are those with an initial investment cost of about $50-million capitalization through financial and technical assistance agreements.
FTAAs may be entered into between foreign contractors and the Philippine government for the large-scale exploration, development and utilization of natural resources and are signed by the president.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/337940/doe-declares-moratorium-on-endorsing-coal-power-plants.html
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Tuesday declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following the periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
Cusi said in a statement the Department of Energy’s most recent assessment revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
He said this will help build a more sustainable power system that is resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner and indigenous technological innovations.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country’s energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Cusi said.
Cusi made the announcement in a speech for the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables held as part of the Singapore International Energy Week 2020.
DOE spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said coal projects listed under the department’s committed power projects were not included in the moratorium because they already secured endorsements.
“We are guiding our investors in advance. As the DOE makes periodic assessments, we can see the balanced way forward,” Fuentebella said.
He said the DOE would issue an advisory to investors for now, but the detailed discussion would follow.
Among the committed power projects in Luzon have a combined capacity of 5,401 megawatts. Of the total, 58.2 percent or 3,436 MW are coal-fired power plants, according to the latest report of the DOE.
These include the AES Masinloc Power Partners Co. Inc.’s 300-MW coal plant expansion in Zambales; 1,336-MW coal plant of GN Power Dinginin Coal Plant Ltd. Co. in Mariveles, Bataan; 1,200-MW coal plant of Atimonan One Energy in Quezon; and Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc.’s 600-MW coal plant in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
Cusi said the Philippines is now allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in large-scale geothermal exploration, development and utilization projects.
Large-scale geothermal projects are those with an initial investment cost of about $50-million capitalization through financial and technical assistance agreements.
FTAAs may be entered into between foreign contractors and the Philippine government for the large-scale exploration, development and utilization of natural resources and are signed by the president.
Meralco rates at their lowest level in years
posted October 27, 2020 at 07:28 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/337920/meralco-rates-at-their-lowest-level-in-years.html
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said Tuesday retail rates in the first nine months marked their lowest level in years.
“In fact, at around P8 per kilowatt-hour, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year-to-date comparison. The generation charge on the other hand has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented power supply agreements which took effect last year,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
Meralco’s average retail rate in the first nine months was at P8.04 per kWh, or P0.96 per kWh lower than the same period in 2019.
It said the average generation charge in the same period was also lower as a result of the implementation of the power supply agreements which were concluded under the competitive selection process, the force majeure claims of Meralco against power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of end-September, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices, the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
“All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements,” Zaldarriaga said,
He said Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/337920/meralco-rates-at-their-lowest-level-in-years.html
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said Tuesday retail rates in the first nine months marked their lowest level in years.
“In fact, at around P8 per kilowatt-hour, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year-to-date comparison. The generation charge on the other hand has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented power supply agreements which took effect last year,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
Meralco’s average retail rate in the first nine months was at P8.04 per kWh, or P0.96 per kWh lower than the same period in 2019.
It said the average generation charge in the same period was also lower as a result of the implementation of the power supply agreements which were concluded under the competitive selection process, the force majeure claims of Meralco against power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of end-September, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices, the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
“All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements,” Zaldarriaga said,
He said Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Government ends energy neutrality, favors renewables ahead of boom
Prinz Magtulis (Philstar.com) - October 27, 2020 - 6:06pm
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052681/government-ends-energy-neutrality-favors-renewables-ahead-boom
MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration will no longer accept proposals to construct new coal power plants, a dramatic shift in energy policy that counts on declining costs of renewables to attract clean power investments.
The moratorium was announced in tandem with the relaxation on foreign ownership limits in geothermal energy projects worth $50 million or more, doubling down on the slow transition to clean power seen as a long-term fix to the Philippines’ supply problems and now even sky-high power costs.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country’s energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a speech on Tuesday.
When President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, his government abandoned a policy of his predecessor that prioritized renewables in favor of one that disregarded the energy source so long as it improves the country’s baseload capacity to meet the demand of a growing economy.
As a result, coal projects proliferated, eating up a larger pie of the country’s energy mix at 26.7% as of 2017, the latest period on which data is available. This happened while the share of renewables declined to just 39% in the same year from as much as 46.1% in 2006.
At the time, coal and other fossil fuels were still deemed cheaper than renewables even though 15.8% of the former were being imported and therefore translated to import costs passed on to consumers. But times have changed and Sara Ahmed, energy finance analyst at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a think tank, said the government’s energy shift is very timely.
“The costs trajectory and the current costs of renewable energy, per kilowatt energy when generated domestically is getting cheaper than imported coal and imported gas,” Ahmed said in a phone interview.
“The constraints we previously thought we have, we don’t actually have,” she added.
RE boom preparations
Indeed, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said one factor for the decision was for the Philippines to get ahead of a renewable energy boom. “There is a need to prepare for the influx of RE…Hence, the need for more flexibility,” he said in a message relayed through the public information office.
While future filings for coal plants will no longer be entertained, Fuentebella said pending applications before the department will be discussed with investors because “we don’t want them investing in something that is not good for them.” He said it may result into an excess supply of “inflexible plants.” It is unclear as of this posting how many coal applications are currently being processed.
“The country’s 80% baseload capacity are inflexible…meaning, you can’t turn it on and off like a tap. You can’t actually reduce the supply when you use it. If you reduce what you’re using, they deteriorate,” Ahmed explained.
As of 2017, the bulk of renewables were in geothermal at 15.2% share of energy mix. Ahmed said easing foreign ownership restrictions first on this segment before the rest of renewables was also strategic. “This has to do with access to low cost international capital,” she explained.
“Geothermal has some exploration risk, but if you take a portfolio approach, it’s actually quite a good strategy,” she said. Portfolio approach means exploring the possibility of constructing more than one plant.
“This is definitely a welcome progress,” she said.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052681/government-ends-energy-neutrality-favors-renewables-ahead-boom
MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration will no longer accept proposals to construct new coal power plants, a dramatic shift in energy policy that counts on declining costs of renewables to attract clean power investments.
The moratorium was announced in tandem with the relaxation on foreign ownership limits in geothermal energy projects worth $50 million or more, doubling down on the slow transition to clean power seen as a long-term fix to the Philippines’ supply problems and now even sky-high power costs.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country’s energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a speech on Tuesday.
When President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, his government abandoned a policy of his predecessor that prioritized renewables in favor of one that disregarded the energy source so long as it improves the country’s baseload capacity to meet the demand of a growing economy.
As a result, coal projects proliferated, eating up a larger pie of the country’s energy mix at 26.7% as of 2017, the latest period on which data is available. This happened while the share of renewables declined to just 39% in the same year from as much as 46.1% in 2006.
At the time, coal and other fossil fuels were still deemed cheaper than renewables even though 15.8% of the former were being imported and therefore translated to import costs passed on to consumers. But times have changed and Sara Ahmed, energy finance analyst at Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a think tank, said the government’s energy shift is very timely.
“The costs trajectory and the current costs of renewable energy, per kilowatt energy when generated domestically is getting cheaper than imported coal and imported gas,” Ahmed said in a phone interview.
“The constraints we previously thought we have, we don’t actually have,” she added.
RE boom preparations
Indeed, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said one factor for the decision was for the Philippines to get ahead of a renewable energy boom. “There is a need to prepare for the influx of RE…Hence, the need for more flexibility,” he said in a message relayed through the public information office.
While future filings for coal plants will no longer be entertained, Fuentebella said pending applications before the department will be discussed with investors because “we don’t want them investing in something that is not good for them.” He said it may result into an excess supply of “inflexible plants.” It is unclear as of this posting how many coal applications are currently being processed.
“The country’s 80% baseload capacity are inflexible…meaning, you can’t turn it on and off like a tap. You can’t actually reduce the supply when you use it. If you reduce what you’re using, they deteriorate,” Ahmed explained.
As of 2017, the bulk of renewables were in geothermal at 15.2% share of energy mix. Ahmed said easing foreign ownership restrictions first on this segment before the rest of renewables was also strategic. “This has to do with access to low cost international capital,” she explained.
“Geothermal has some exploration risk, but if you take a portfolio approach, it’s actually quite a good strategy,” she said. Portfolio approach means exploring the possibility of constructing more than one plant.
“This is definitely a welcome progress,” she said.
Meralco: 9 gencos keen on joining power supply auction
By Lenie Lectura October 27, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/10/27/meralco-9-gencos-keen-on-joining-power-supply-auction/
Nine power generation companies (gencos) have expressed interest to participate in the competitive auction for the 1,800megawatt (MW) power requirements of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
“As of October 23, TPBAC [Third Party Bids and Awards Committee] Secretariat already received Expressions of Interest from several gencos with offered capacities totaling 3,600MW, utilizing a variety of technologies,” the company said in its financial and operating results for January to September.
The identities of the gencos were not revealed, citing non-disclosure agreements.
“We are not at liberty to disclose the names of companies who expressed interest. There are around nine GenCos,” said Meralco Head of Regulatory Affairs Jose Ronald Valles when sought for comment. “It’s a total of 3,600MW. Some submitted 600MW while some submitted a minimum of 150MW.”
Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), said during the utility firm’s press briefing that it will participate in the Meralco’s Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for its 2024-2025 requirements.
“We are on track to deliver energy requirement for Meralco’s Greenfield CSP by late 2024/mid2025,” said MGen President Rogelio Singson.
MGen is the power generation arm of Meralco.
A1E is the developer of the country’s first ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant valued at P160 billion. The 2x600MW plant will be built in Atimonan, Quezon. The site preparation activities for the plant fully resumed in late August.
Earlier, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President Ramon S. Ang said the conglomerate’s power business unit would join the auction. Other interested firms include AC Energy Inc., the power arm of Ayala Corp.; Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC); and Aboitiz Power Corp.
SMC and AC Energy won in September last year the power supply contracts covering 1,200MW of Meralco’s power requirements.
Meralco has set on November 12 the deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest, with bid submission deadline and opening of bid offers set on January 25, 2021.
In the bid invite, Meralco said it would need 1,200MW by December 2024 and 600MW by May 2025. A bidder can offer at least 150MW. If the total capacity offer goes beyond 1,800MW, the bidder that fills up the last stack shall have its offer reduced. The price offers must not go over than the pre-determined reserve price, which would only be revealed during the opening of the bids scheduled on January 25, 2021.
Meralco prefers baseload plants or those that continuously run on a 24/7 basis. These power facilities should be in commercial operation not earlier than January 2020 but no later than May 2025. The scheduled outage allowance (OA) and forced OA of the plants that will offer to supply Meralco should not exceed 30 days and 15 days, respectively.
Power rates
Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares and Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente convener David Celestra Tan questioned Meralco’s retail rates.
“This year, Meralco likes to boast that its generation rate had come down from P4.9039 per kwh in January to P4.12 per kWh in August, a 16-percent reduction. They like to point out that they negotiated hard with its IPP’s [Independent Power Producer] by declaring force majeure during this pandemic so the take or pay provisions of the contract were not applied, thus saving us consumers P1.5 billion,” Colmenares said.
However, he said electricity spot market prices dropped 193 percent to P2.421 per kWh in August from P8.49 per kWh in January while the fuel of these plants declined by 28 percent to $50.34 in August from $69.66 in January. In contrast, Colmenares said Meralco’s generation rate dropped only by16 percent.
“Our analysts noticed that in Meralco’s generation mix is sticking out like a sore thumb, the Quezon Power Mauban’s average rate for the period January to September 2020 of P6.73 per kWh. It is 51 percent higher than AC Energy at P4.55, 66 percent higher than San Miguel’s Sual at P4.051, an astonishing 82 percent higher than Therma Power in Pagbilao at P3.6549 per kWh,” he said.
“Quezon Power is 66 percent higher than the new 460mw San Buenaventura coal plant at P4.0533 per kWh. There is a lot that needs to be explained in the Quezon Power charges that are passed on to the consumers. This is anomalous and needs a Congress or a DOE [Department of Energy] and ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] investigation to protect the public interest.”
When sought for comment, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said Meralco’s retail rates have significantly gone down to its lowest levels in years.
He said the average retail rate of Meralco from January to September this year stood at P8.04 per kWh, which is P0.96 per kWh lower than the same period in 2019.
The average generation charge for the same period was also lower as a result of the implementation of the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) which were concluded under the CSP in December 2019, the force majeure claims of Meralco against its power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of September 30, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices, and the appreciation of the Philippine peso versus the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
Meralco’s September 2020 rates marks the fifth straight month of reduction in the average retail rate, which is the lowest since September 2017.
“In fact, at around P8 pesos per kWh, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year to date comparison. The generation charge has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented PSAs, which took effect last year,” he said.
Zaldarriaga also said the rates were approved by the ERC. “All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements. Important to note as well, all of Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by ERC.”
Tan, meanwhile, noted that Quezon Power’s P6.5919 per kwh rate last January was a stark contrast to all the other coal power suppliers of Meralco. “Masinloc was at P5.4658 per kwh, Luzon Therma of Aboitiz in Pagbilao at P3.9001 per kwh, San Miguel’s Sual at P4.0689 and AC Energy at P4.2366 per kwh. That’s an average premium of 52.4 percent.
In terms of absolute numbers, for the first 9 months of 2020, Meralco bought P1.601 billion kwh of electricity from Quezon Power at an average price of P6.73 per kwh. The average price of all other coal power suppliers to Meralco for that period is about P4.20 per kwh. This means Meralco paid Quezon Power P2.53 per kwh higher than the average or at a total cost of P4.05 billion premium this year 2020. That P4.05 billion had been passed on to Meralco consumers,” said Tan.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/10/27/meralco-9-gencos-keen-on-joining-power-supply-auction/
Nine power generation companies (gencos) have expressed interest to participate in the competitive auction for the 1,800megawatt (MW) power requirements of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
“As of October 23, TPBAC [Third Party Bids and Awards Committee] Secretariat already received Expressions of Interest from several gencos with offered capacities totaling 3,600MW, utilizing a variety of technologies,” the company said in its financial and operating results for January to September.
The identities of the gencos were not revealed, citing non-disclosure agreements.
“We are not at liberty to disclose the names of companies who expressed interest. There are around nine GenCos,” said Meralco Head of Regulatory Affairs Jose Ronald Valles when sought for comment. “It’s a total of 3,600MW. Some submitted 600MW while some submitted a minimum of 150MW.”
Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), said during the utility firm’s press briefing that it will participate in the Meralco’s Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for its 2024-2025 requirements.
“We are on track to deliver energy requirement for Meralco’s Greenfield CSP by late 2024/mid2025,” said MGen President Rogelio Singson.
MGen is the power generation arm of Meralco.
A1E is the developer of the country’s first ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant valued at P160 billion. The 2x600MW plant will be built in Atimonan, Quezon. The site preparation activities for the plant fully resumed in late August.
Earlier, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President Ramon S. Ang said the conglomerate’s power business unit would join the auction. Other interested firms include AC Energy Inc., the power arm of Ayala Corp.; Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC); and Aboitiz Power Corp.
SMC and AC Energy won in September last year the power supply contracts covering 1,200MW of Meralco’s power requirements.
Meralco has set on November 12 the deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest, with bid submission deadline and opening of bid offers set on January 25, 2021.
In the bid invite, Meralco said it would need 1,200MW by December 2024 and 600MW by May 2025. A bidder can offer at least 150MW. If the total capacity offer goes beyond 1,800MW, the bidder that fills up the last stack shall have its offer reduced. The price offers must not go over than the pre-determined reserve price, which would only be revealed during the opening of the bids scheduled on January 25, 2021.
Meralco prefers baseload plants or those that continuously run on a 24/7 basis. These power facilities should be in commercial operation not earlier than January 2020 but no later than May 2025. The scheduled outage allowance (OA) and forced OA of the plants that will offer to supply Meralco should not exceed 30 days and 15 days, respectively.
Power rates
Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares and Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente convener David Celestra Tan questioned Meralco’s retail rates.
“This year, Meralco likes to boast that its generation rate had come down from P4.9039 per kwh in January to P4.12 per kWh in August, a 16-percent reduction. They like to point out that they negotiated hard with its IPP’s [Independent Power Producer] by declaring force majeure during this pandemic so the take or pay provisions of the contract were not applied, thus saving us consumers P1.5 billion,” Colmenares said.
However, he said electricity spot market prices dropped 193 percent to P2.421 per kWh in August from P8.49 per kWh in January while the fuel of these plants declined by 28 percent to $50.34 in August from $69.66 in January. In contrast, Colmenares said Meralco’s generation rate dropped only by16 percent.
“Our analysts noticed that in Meralco’s generation mix is sticking out like a sore thumb, the Quezon Power Mauban’s average rate for the period January to September 2020 of P6.73 per kWh. It is 51 percent higher than AC Energy at P4.55, 66 percent higher than San Miguel’s Sual at P4.051, an astonishing 82 percent higher than Therma Power in Pagbilao at P3.6549 per kWh,” he said.
“Quezon Power is 66 percent higher than the new 460mw San Buenaventura coal plant at P4.0533 per kWh. There is a lot that needs to be explained in the Quezon Power charges that are passed on to the consumers. This is anomalous and needs a Congress or a DOE [Department of Energy] and ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] investigation to protect the public interest.”
When sought for comment, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said Meralco’s retail rates have significantly gone down to its lowest levels in years.
He said the average retail rate of Meralco from January to September this year stood at P8.04 per kWh, which is P0.96 per kWh lower than the same period in 2019.
The average generation charge for the same period was also lower as a result of the implementation of the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) which were concluded under the CSP in December 2019, the force majeure claims of Meralco against its power suppliers which totaled P2.4 billion as of September 30, lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices, and the appreciation of the Philippine peso versus the US dollar and lower fuel prices.
Meralco’s September 2020 rates marks the fifth straight month of reduction in the average retail rate, which is the lowest since September 2017.
“In fact, at around P8 pesos per kWh, it has already gone down by almost P1 per kwh on a year to date comparison. The generation charge has dropped by 17 percent during the same period last year as a result of our newly implemented PSAs, which took effect last year,” he said.
Zaldarriaga also said the rates were approved by the ERC. “All our supply agreements, including the rates therein, have undergone public hearings participated in by various groups. It is duly and legally approved by the regulator and has fully complied with lawful requirements. Important to note as well, all of Meralco’s pass-through charges also undergo confirmation hearings by ERC.”
Tan, meanwhile, noted that Quezon Power’s P6.5919 per kwh rate last January was a stark contrast to all the other coal power suppliers of Meralco. “Masinloc was at P5.4658 per kwh, Luzon Therma of Aboitiz in Pagbilao at P3.9001 per kwh, San Miguel’s Sual at P4.0689 and AC Energy at P4.2366 per kwh. That’s an average premium of 52.4 percent.
In terms of absolute numbers, for the first 9 months of 2020, Meralco bought P1.601 billion kwh of electricity from Quezon Power at an average price of P6.73 per kwh. The average price of all other coal power suppliers to Meralco for that period is about P4.20 per kwh. This means Meralco paid Quezon Power P2.53 per kwh higher than the average or at a total cost of P4.05 billion premium this year 2020. That P4.05 billion had been passed on to Meralco consumers,” said Tan.
Basic Energy stockholders okay hike in authorized capital to P5B
October 27, 2020 | 12:01 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/basic-energy-stockholders-okay-hike-in-authorized-capital-to-p5b/
BASIC ENERGY Corp. (BSC) is doubling its authorized capital stock to P5 billion from P2.5 billion.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the company said its stockholders had approved the increase in its authorized capital stock to P5 billion.
The capital stock will comprise 20 billion shares with a par value of P0.25 per share and the “waiver by a majority stockholders of the mandatory rights offer requirement” of the Philippine Stock Exchange’s listing rules for the listing of shares issued out of the increase in the authorized capital stock.
In an earlier disclosure, the company said that for the period ending June 30, it recorded a total revenue of P2.73 million and total cost and expenses of P24.82 million, which resulted in a net loss of P22.09 million.
The company said its total assets as of June 30 stood at P573.05 million, a decrease of P27.52 million from P600.58 million as of Dec. 31 last year.
“Current assets, composed mostly of cash and cash equivalents amounting to P94.88 million, receivables amounting to P35.23 million, refundable deposits amounting to P22.53 million, and other current assets amounting to P2.93 million, decreased by P11.78 million, as these were used for operations,” the company said.
It added that its non-current assets decreased by P15.75 million, primarily due to the decrease in financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) amounting to P17.5 million.
The company’s total liabilities decreased by P11.26 million from P42.85 million as of Dec. 31 last year to P31.58 million as of June 30 this year.
It said the decrease was primarily due to the “partial payment of the accrued retirement benefit payable.”
The listed firm’s stockholders’ equity as of June 30 stood at P550.83 million, a decrease of P15.98 million from P566.81 million as of December last year.
“This was primarily due to the net loss booked for the first half of 2020 of P21.81 million and increased in cumulative translation adjustment of P5.33 million,” it said.
Shares in Basic Energy on Monday closed 3.81% higher at P0.218 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang
https://www.bworldonline.com/basic-energy-stockholders-okay-hike-in-authorized-capital-to-p5b/
BASIC ENERGY Corp. (BSC) is doubling its authorized capital stock to P5 billion from P2.5 billion.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the company said its stockholders had approved the increase in its authorized capital stock to P5 billion.
The capital stock will comprise 20 billion shares with a par value of P0.25 per share and the “waiver by a majority stockholders of the mandatory rights offer requirement” of the Philippine Stock Exchange’s listing rules for the listing of shares issued out of the increase in the authorized capital stock.
In an earlier disclosure, the company said that for the period ending June 30, it recorded a total revenue of P2.73 million and total cost and expenses of P24.82 million, which resulted in a net loss of P22.09 million.
The company said its total assets as of June 30 stood at P573.05 million, a decrease of P27.52 million from P600.58 million as of Dec. 31 last year.
“Current assets, composed mostly of cash and cash equivalents amounting to P94.88 million, receivables amounting to P35.23 million, refundable deposits amounting to P22.53 million, and other current assets amounting to P2.93 million, decreased by P11.78 million, as these were used for operations,” the company said.
It added that its non-current assets decreased by P15.75 million, primarily due to the decrease in financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) amounting to P17.5 million.
The company’s total liabilities decreased by P11.26 million from P42.85 million as of Dec. 31 last year to P31.58 million as of June 30 this year.
It said the decrease was primarily due to the “partial payment of the accrued retirement benefit payable.”
The listed firm’s stockholders’ equity as of June 30 stood at P550.83 million, a decrease of P15.98 million from P566.81 million as of December last year.
“This was primarily due to the net loss booked for the first half of 2020 of P21.81 million and increased in cumulative translation adjustment of P5.33 million,” it said.
Shares in Basic Energy on Monday closed 3.81% higher at P0.218 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang
Meralco income down 38.6% to P11.25 billion
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 27, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052463/meralco-income-down-386-p1125-billion
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) registered a 38.6 percent decline in its reported net income in the nine months of the year to P11.25 billion, but reiterated its forecast of reaching P21 billion in core profit by yearend.
In a virtual press briefing, Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said reported net income for January to September amounted to P11.3 billion from the P18.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
The company said the decline was due to recognition of the company’s share in impairment of the investment in PacificLight Power Pte Ltd. of P2.7 billion in the first quarter of the year.
Similarly, consolidated core net income was 15 percent lower at P15.7 billion from P18.5 billion in the same period last year.
“The full year profitability, core income profit for Meralco, we’ll be expecting about P21 billion, so considering what we did in 2021, this will be a slight decline in profitability of about 10 to 11 percent, in relation to the 2019 core,”Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan is optimistic of a better financial performance in the fourth quarter of the year compared to the previous quarters.
“As 2020 comes to a close, we remain to be on the lookout for ways to limit the adverse impact of this pandemic, while remaining steadfast in commitment to keeping the lights on. We firmly believe that there is opportunity in every crisis and, are hopeful that we will emerge stronger than ever,” Pangilinan said.
Meanwhile, gross revenues for January to September stood at P214.2 billion, 11 percent lower than the same period in 2019.
Meralco said this was largely due to the seven percent decline in energy sales volumes and the effect of lower generation pass-through charges.
Consolidated energy sales volume in the nine-month period stood at 32,539 GWh, including volumes distributed by Clark Electric of 374 GWh,which was also a 14 percent drop.
“This decline in volumes reflects the net effect of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) through general community quarantine (GCQ),” Meralco said.
With the gradual easing under GCQ, Meralco said that industrial and commercial sales volumes showed signs of recovery, although residential sales volumes continue to account for a larger share of total volumes.
Residential volume accounted for 39 percent of sales, while commercial and industrial accounted for 34 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
This can be attributed to the continued work from home and distance learning arrangement.
Meanwhile, Meralco said its year-to-date peak demand in the first nine months of 2020 was less than two percent lower than 2019, with peak demand registered on March 10, 2020 at 7,614 MW, shortly before the ECQ was imposed.
The company reported that the number of customer accounts reached 7.02 million as of the end of September, 92 percent of which are residential customers.
Pangilinan reiterated the company’s commitment to continue to provide the most reliable and resilient network to ensure that the entire franchise is enabled for the economic upturn.
“Today, we estimate that we need to execute close to P50. billion of capital expenditures for our distribution business and generation investments,” Pangilinan said.
“We look at this as an opportunity to create jobs, propel business activities and stimulate consumption,”he said.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052463/meralco-income-down-386-p1125-billion
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) registered a 38.6 percent decline in its reported net income in the nine months of the year to P11.25 billion, but reiterated its forecast of reaching P21 billion in core profit by yearend.
In a virtual press briefing, Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said reported net income for January to September amounted to P11.3 billion from the P18.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
The company said the decline was due to recognition of the company’s share in impairment of the investment in PacificLight Power Pte Ltd. of P2.7 billion in the first quarter of the year.
Similarly, consolidated core net income was 15 percent lower at P15.7 billion from P18.5 billion in the same period last year.
“The full year profitability, core income profit for Meralco, we’ll be expecting about P21 billion, so considering what we did in 2021, this will be a slight decline in profitability of about 10 to 11 percent, in relation to the 2019 core,”Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan is optimistic of a better financial performance in the fourth quarter of the year compared to the previous quarters.
“As 2020 comes to a close, we remain to be on the lookout for ways to limit the adverse impact of this pandemic, while remaining steadfast in commitment to keeping the lights on. We firmly believe that there is opportunity in every crisis and, are hopeful that we will emerge stronger than ever,” Pangilinan said.
Meanwhile, gross revenues for January to September stood at P214.2 billion, 11 percent lower than the same period in 2019.
Meralco said this was largely due to the seven percent decline in energy sales volumes and the effect of lower generation pass-through charges.
Consolidated energy sales volume in the nine-month period stood at 32,539 GWh, including volumes distributed by Clark Electric of 374 GWh,which was also a 14 percent drop.
“This decline in volumes reflects the net effect of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) through general community quarantine (GCQ),” Meralco said.
With the gradual easing under GCQ, Meralco said that industrial and commercial sales volumes showed signs of recovery, although residential sales volumes continue to account for a larger share of total volumes.
Residential volume accounted for 39 percent of sales, while commercial and industrial accounted for 34 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
This can be attributed to the continued work from home and distance learning arrangement.
Meanwhile, Meralco said its year-to-date peak demand in the first nine months of 2020 was less than two percent lower than 2019, with peak demand registered on March 10, 2020 at 7,614 MW, shortly before the ECQ was imposed.
The company reported that the number of customer accounts reached 7.02 million as of the end of September, 92 percent of which are residential customers.
Pangilinan reiterated the company’s commitment to continue to provide the most reliable and resilient network to ensure that the entire franchise is enabled for the economic upturn.
“Today, we estimate that we need to execute close to P50. billion of capital expenditures for our distribution business and generation investments,” Pangilinan said.
“We look at this as an opportunity to create jobs, propel business activities and stimulate consumption,”he said.
MVP confirms interest in Malampaya
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - October 27, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052455/mvp-confirms-interest-malampaya
MANILA, Philippines — Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan has confirmed his interest in acquiring the Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX)’s stake in the Malampaya project, through PXP Energy Corp.
“We’re looking at it,” Pangilinan, who is the chairman of PXP, said in a virtual briefing with reporters.
“We’ve been talking to JP Morgan who’s advising Shell on the sale of their share in Malampaya,” he said.
In September, SPEX announced that it is exploring options to divest its interest in the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project as part of its portfolio rationalization efforts.
The STAR reported earlier that the MVP Group is looking at the Malampaya project as part of its long-term vision.
Pangilinan bared plans of potentially integrating the Malampaya facility to service contract (SC) 72 if exploratory efforts in the latter are successful.
“The plan, assuming that we’re allowed by whoever owns Malampaya eventually, is to pipe the gas from SC 72 to the Malampaya facility so that they can process the gas. After processing, pipe the gas to Batangas, where as of now, all of the gas plants are located,” Pangilinan said.
SC 72 is located in the West Philippine Sea, west of Palawan and southwest of the Malampaya facility.
Earlier this month, the government lifted the exploration moratorium in the West Philippine Sea.
The Department of Energy said it had issued resume-to-work notices to service contractors for the areas of SC 72, 59 and 75.
Moreover, Pangilinan also affirmed interest in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, emphasizing that this is something the group should look at.
“Particularly if we’re successful in SC 72, and if we’re fortunate to buy the Shell stake in Malampaya, then we’re in the gas business,” Pangilinan said.
“I think the group should take a look at that business,” he added, emphasizing that nothing is definite at the moment.
Apart from PXP, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang also expressed interest in acquiring SPEX’s Malampaya stake.
In March, Dennis Uy-led Udenna Corp. completed its acquisition of Chevron Philippines Ltd.’s 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project.
With the acquisition, Udenna became SPEX’s joint venture partner for the Malampaya project along with government partner Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. SPEX has a 45 percent stake while PNOC-EC has a 10 percent stake in the project.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/27/2052455/mvp-confirms-interest-malampaya
MANILA, Philippines — Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan has confirmed his interest in acquiring the Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX)’s stake in the Malampaya project, through PXP Energy Corp.
“We’re looking at it,” Pangilinan, who is the chairman of PXP, said in a virtual briefing with reporters.
“We’ve been talking to JP Morgan who’s advising Shell on the sale of their share in Malampaya,” he said.
In September, SPEX announced that it is exploring options to divest its interest in the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project as part of its portfolio rationalization efforts.
The STAR reported earlier that the MVP Group is looking at the Malampaya project as part of its long-term vision.
Pangilinan bared plans of potentially integrating the Malampaya facility to service contract (SC) 72 if exploratory efforts in the latter are successful.
“The plan, assuming that we’re allowed by whoever owns Malampaya eventually, is to pipe the gas from SC 72 to the Malampaya facility so that they can process the gas. After processing, pipe the gas to Batangas, where as of now, all of the gas plants are located,” Pangilinan said.
SC 72 is located in the West Philippine Sea, west of Palawan and southwest of the Malampaya facility.
Earlier this month, the government lifted the exploration moratorium in the West Philippine Sea.
The Department of Energy said it had issued resume-to-work notices to service contractors for the areas of SC 72, 59 and 75.
Moreover, Pangilinan also affirmed interest in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, emphasizing that this is something the group should look at.
“Particularly if we’re successful in SC 72, and if we’re fortunate to buy the Shell stake in Malampaya, then we’re in the gas business,” Pangilinan said.
“I think the group should take a look at that business,” he added, emphasizing that nothing is definite at the moment.
Apart from PXP, San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang also expressed interest in acquiring SPEX’s Malampaya stake.
In March, Dennis Uy-led Udenna Corp. completed its acquisition of Chevron Philippines Ltd.’s 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project.
With the acquisition, Udenna became SPEX’s joint venture partner for the Malampaya project along with government partner Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. SPEX has a 45 percent stake while PNOC-EC has a 10 percent stake in the project.
Meralco targets P21-billion core net income this year
Published October 26, 2020, 4:17 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/26/meralco-targets-p21-billion-core-net-income-this-year/
Anchoring it mainly on the electricity demand slump this year because of the pandemic, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is targeting a leaner core net income of P21 billion this year, which is roughly 10 to 11-percent lower versus last year’s P24 billion scale of profitability.
In the first three
quarters this year, the company’s core income dipped 15-percent to P15.727
billion from a relatively robust level of P18.453 billion in the same period
last year.
For the utility firm’s reported net income, this was substantially down by
39-percent to P11.342 billion from the year-ago level of P18.423 billion in the
same nine-month stretch.
Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan noted that despite the decline in income in the last nine months, “we expect fourth quarter to be better than the second and third quarters given the rising volume of power sold.”
He similarly announced that the company will still retain its 60-percent dividend payment for the year, and that is estimated to be more than P13 billion payout to shareholders out of core earnings for 2020.
And as the Philippine economy gains traction on the recovery track, Pangilinan emphasized “given a
slightly more
optimistic picture for 2021, we do expect the core income of Meralco to rise
next year.”
He qualified the utility firm has not done actual review of prospective
performance for next year, “but it should be better than the P21 plus billion
that is expected for 2020.”
Meralco President Ray C. Espinosa, for his part, noted that consolidated energy sales volume from January to September had declined by 7.0-percent – and that hovered to 32,539 gigawatt hours in the first nine months, including volumes contributed by its subsidiary Clark Electric Distribution Corporation.
The company, nevertheless, hinted that “with the gradual easing under the GCQ (gradual community quarantine), industrial and commercial sales volume show signs of recovery although residential sales volume continue to account for a larger share of total volumes.”
Espinosa said “even as
we deal with the pandemic, Meralco continues to pursue opportunities for
revenue expansion and growth.”
He qualified that with the company’s full force capacity, “we are quickening
the pace of service connection and energization to fulfill new customer demands
throughout our franchise area,” with him stressing that “we shall remain a
steadfast partner of our stakeholders in keeping the lights on.”
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