Alsons keeps power projects on schedule

By Adam J. Ang

ALSONS Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) said it would meet the target commercial runs for its energy projects in the pipeline.

Despite the pandemic’s impact, various projects of the Alcantara-led firm are well on-track for completion, carrying them out in a “controlled and safe” manner. It viewed these as the company’s “contribution” to the country’s economic recovery.

“Even though your company has been fortunate enough to be able to keep our projects on track, this situation brought about by the pandemic has had a considerable impact to our economy,” ACR Executive Vice-President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr. said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Thursday.

“We thus view our continuing pursuit of these upcoming projects as your company’s contribution to the economic recovery of our country by helping create new jobs and stimulate the local economies in the areas where we operate,” he added.

Having delayed a little during the lockdown months, Alson’s P4.5-billion hydropower plant in Maasim, Sarangani province will still be ready for its commercial launch over the next two years. The run-of-river generator, the company’s first entry into renewables, will have a 14.5-megawatt (MW) capacity.

Two other hydropower facilities in the pipeline: the 22-MW Sindangan plant in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42-MW Bago generator in Negros Occidental, are also under “advanced” stages of construction.

Its 105-MW San Ramon Power, Inc. (SRPI) coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City is expected to have its engineering, procurement and construction contract signed within the third quarter of the year. The P16-billion baseload plant is set to go online in 2023.

Moreover, it is seeing no delays in the target turnover and occupancy of the two under-construction Ayala Land Premier towers within its 26-hectare mixed-use township project with Ayala Land, Inc. in Davao City.

Meanwhile, Alsons committed to keeping the lights on for all its customers.

“Your Company’s plants will continue to operate and supply power to our customers even as we continue to try our best to help the power distributors and consumers who have been adversely affected financially by the pandemic,” Mr. Santillan said.

In the first quarter, the listed firm’s earnings soared nearly three times year on year to P310 million as revenues jumped with the full run of its “income driver” 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) coal-fired baseload facility.

Its revenues rose to P2.21 billion in the quarter, compared with P1.22 billion posted in the same period last year, due to the contribution of SEC’s 105-MW second unit, which came online in October last year.

ACR currently runs four power generators with a combined capacity of 468 MW, serving over eight million households in 14 cities and 11 provinces in Mindanao.

On Thursday, shares in Alsons dipped 1.68% to close at P1.17 apiece.