By Lenie Lectura - June 3, 2019
TOYOTA Tsusho Corp., the Japanese
partner of Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR), might not be keen on
pursuing its partnership for the 15.1-megawatt (MW) run-of-river
hydropower project along Siguil River in Sarangani province, citing security
reasons.
“There is a probability that Toyota
will not enter Siguil for security reasons. It’s in the red area for them
because of the peace and order; that peace and order overhangs,” ACR acting CEO
Tirso G. Santillan said.
The Siguil hydro project is the
company’s first renewable-energy (RE) venture, with commercial operations
targeted in 2022. ACR will still pursue the hydro project.
Toyota Tsusho Corp. has been a
longtime partner of ACR on a per-project basis. It has a 25-percent stake in
Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC), Southern Philippines Power Corp. (SPPC)
and Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC).
ACR officials said last year Toyota
Tsusho is keen on investing in ACR’s RE projects, particularly hydro
resources, in Visayas and Mindanao.
“Their issue is the risk in some
areas in Mindanao. Zamboanga, and then outside of GenSan, is a gray area to
them. Although they entered SEC, Siguil and Kalaong are in the mountains. I
don’t know if Sindangan is in Zamboanga del Norte. They may not enter there
either,” Santillan explained. Toyota Tsusho is, however, interested
in another hydro project not located in Mindanao.
“It is clear for them that if we
invite them into Bago, they will go in. They want to go into renewables. In
fact, meron silang subsidiary that is a renewable company,” Santillan
said.
ACR plans to develop specific sites
with a hydro potential totaling about 200 MWs in the following sites: Bago
River in Negros Occidental, Sindangan River in Zamboanga del Norte, and
locations in Davao Oriental, Maitum Sarangani, the two Agusan Provinces
and Surigao del Sur.
Santillan said the company has
identified four sites along Bago River that can produce 42MW in total capacity.
“After Siguil, there are two
possible projects that will be implemented. That’s Bago and Sindangan. We’re
moving toward implementing Bago. As soon as we’re ready to go,
Toyota Tsusho will…the process is long. Japanese companies want to be
certain.”
ACR operates three diesel power
facilities—the 103-MW diesel plant of Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC) in Iligan City,
the 55-MW facility of SPPC in Alabel, Sarangani, and the 100-MW power plant of
WMPC in Zamboanga City.
Meanwhile, the second unit of the
coal-fired power plant of SEC in Maasim, Sarangani, will start operating later
this year with an additional 105 MW. By then, ACR will have a total
installed capacity of 468 MW by the end of 2019. Once the Siguil hydro project
begins operating in the next three years and when the San Ramon Power Inc.
(SRPI) coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City goes onstream soon after, the
company is expected to account for around 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected
peak power demand.
The present situation of excess
power capacity in Mindanao was brought about by the influx of baseload
coal-fired power plants which started to come online begining 2015.
Santillan said such climate of
surplus capacity also posed challenges to ACR’s diesel plants and prompted the
company to embark on initiatives for these plants to provide ancillary services
to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to supply peaking, back-up
and replacement power to Mindanao’s distribution utilities and electric
cooperatives.
Last year, NGCP signed an ancillary
services procurement agreement (Aspa) with WMPC for its 100-MW diesel plant in
Zamboanga City to provide the grid operator with dispatchable generating
capacity, reactive power support and black start capability that would
stabilize the power grid in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Also last year, ACR tendered a
proposal for its SPPC diesel plant in Sarangani to provide ancillary services
to NGCP in order to help stabilize the power grid in Region 12.
In 2013 ACR decided to reclassify
itself as a primarily power company rather than a holding company. In these few
years, Santillan said, the company has managed to make a name for itself as a
major player in Mindanao’s power industry.
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