Alsons reaffirm power expansion commitment

Business Mirror
23 May 2014 Written by Lenie Lectura

ALSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) on Friday said it remains committed to expand its power-generation business in the region.

At the company’s annual stockholders meeting, ACR Chairman and President Tomas I. Alcantara announced the company’s re-acquisition and rehabilitation of Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC), the first of ACR’s expansion efforts.

MPC’s operations commenced in May 2013. It is now operating at a capacity of 103 megawatts (MW), providing power to Iligan City, General Santos City, Zamboanga City and other key areas of Mindanao. Alcantara also cited the ongoing construction of the Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC)’s 210-MW coal-fired power plant located in Maasim, Sarangani Province.

It is one of only two plants cited by Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Jericho L. Petilla expected to go online in 2015 that will help provide a sustainable and long-term solution to Mindanao’s power crisis.

The plant will have an initial 105- MW output in 2015 for about 3.47 million people in Sarangani Province, General Santos City and key areas in South Cotabato, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and majority of Davao del Norte.

Part of ACR’s expansion plan includes the Maasim plant reaching its full 210-MW capacity in 2016 that will serve an additional 3.8 million people residing in Cotabato, South Cotabato and Zamboanga del Norte. The $570-million SEC plant is the single biggest investment in Sarangani Province and Region 12.

Alcantara also underscored ACR’s expansion with the development of the 105-MW San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) coal-fired plant in Sitio San Ramon, Talisayan in Zamboanga City. The SRPI plant is set to provide baseload power to Zamboanga and other key municipalities in the region.

To complete its five-fold expansion, ACR is beefing up its stake in Mindanao by developing a 17-MW hydroelectric plant in Siguil River at Maasim, Sarangani.

“These five projects will complement and not replace the operations of existing power generating projects, namely the Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) and Southern Philippines Power Corp. (SPPC). These two facilities can still perform in a competitive market and will play a vital role in the company’s operations,” Alcantara stressed. source