AN official of the power business of Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACRI) said the possible listing of its power business in the local bourse might take place after all of its planned power projects in Mindanao are put up.
“Maybe in the next few years, once we have all these coal plants commissioned, when they are all running and have earnings,” said Antonio Miguel Alcantara, ACRI corporate planning officer.
Among the power projects lined up include the 105-megawatt (MW) phase 2 of the Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC), the 15-MW Siguil run-of-river hydropower, and the 105-MW Zamboanga coal plant, which will be undertaken by San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI). SEC Section 2 will begin construction this year, with commercial operation scheduled in 2018. The San Ramon coal-fired power plant, meanwhile, is expected to begin operating in 2019 and serve Zamboanga City and nearby areas.
Aside from the Siguil project, Alsons plans to develop other run-of-river projects, with a total potential capacity of 185 MW across Mindanao and Negros Occidental, the company said. “When doing an IPO [initial public offering], the question that comes into play is construction so you can get better valuations,” Alcantara said.
Alsons currently operates three diesel-power facilities: the 103-MW Mapalad Power Corp. diesel plant in Iligan City, the 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corp. plant in Alabel, Sarangani; and the 100-MW power plant of Western Mindanao Power Corp. in Zamboanga City.
Alsons said that, by 2019, it will have about a 588-MW generating capacity, which the company said could serve around 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak-power demand for that year.