Alsons considers IPO for power unit

ALSONS Consolidated Resources, Inc. said an initial public offering (IPO) is an option for its power subsidiary in the long term, an official of the holding firm said.

“Maybe in the next few years, once we have all of these coal plants COD’ed [commercial operate date], meaning they’re all running already, they already have earnings coming out from them,” said Antonio Miguel B. Alcantara, Alsons corporate planning officer.

Alsons’ power facilities are expected to reach a generating capacity of 588 MW by 2020 or around 25% of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand for that year, the official said.

“When you do an IPO, the question that comes into play is construction, as an example, so you can get better valuations after the earnings are already there,” he said.

This year marks the company’s first year as a “merchant” in the power business. Alsons unit Southern Philippines Power Corp.’s 55- megawatt ( MW) diesel- fired power plant in Alabel, Sarangani province had a previous “energy conversion” agreement with the National Power Corp. Western Mindanao Power Corp.’s 100-MW plant had a similar deal.

In July, Alsons has awarded the contract to build the second phase of its Sarangani coal-fired power plant to Japanese company JGC Corp.

The unit is the second half of the 210-MW project being undertaken by Alsons subsidiary Sarangani Energy Corp. In April, the first 105MW section of the plant began operating. It provides baseload power to more than 3 million residents of the province, General Santos City and other key areas of Mindanao.

Apart from the coal plants, Alsons is also entering renewable energy by developing a 15- MW run-of-river hydroelectric plant along Siguil River in Maasim, Sarangani. The plant is set to start construction in 2017.

Alsons houses its power projects in one group, which company officials said in not a corporate entity yet but a brand to separate the business from other segments.

The holding firm’s core businesses are conducted through subsidiaries and associates, which are grouped into main categories consisting of energy and power, property development and other investments.

Its investment in the energy and power business is through four holding firms, namely, Conal Holdings Corp., Alsing Power Holdings, Inc., Alsons Renewable Energy Corp. and Alsons Thermal Energy Corp. —