Alsons, GBP partner for Mindanao power projects
MANILA -- Listed Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) on Wednesday said it has formally started its partnership with Global Business Power Corporation (GBP) to undertake energy and power projects through Mindanao power generation holding company, Alsons Thermal Energy Corp. (ATEC)
The two companies signed a shareholders’ agreement this month wherein GBP, the leading power producer in the Visayas, will have a 50-percent stake in ATEC, the holding company for ACR’s baseload coal-fired power plant assets.
An investment agreement between the two parties was signed last June and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) subsequently gave its approval to the partnership in September.
“We believe that this partnership will greatly benefit power consumers particularly in light of the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas grids which we strongly support,” ACR Chairman and President Tomas Alcantara told the local bourse.
Alcantara said the two organizations hoped to bring their technical expertise and strengths in ensuring power security in Mindanao.
He noted the partnership will provide ACR the opportunity to pursue its other energy-based projects outside of the ATEC umbrella, particularly its renewable power generating plants in Mindanao and Western Visayas.
“It will likewise allow ACR to accelerate its foray and entry in other energy-related enterprises in Southern Philippines, including the smaller islands with promising growth in power demand,” he added.
ACR currently holds a 75-percent stake in the 210-megawatt (MW) Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) baseload coal-fired plant in Maasim, Sarangani Province. ACR’s Japanese partner Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) will still hold 25-percent equity in SEC.
The largest power investment in Sarangani province and the entire Region 12, the $600-million SEC power plant is expected to reach its full capacity in the first half of 2019.
The power plant will be servicing over six million people in key population centers of Mindanao, such as General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Butuan.
ATEC at present holds 100-percent equity in San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI), which is developing a 105-MW baseload coalfired plant in Zamboanga City. It is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2021.
Outside of the ATEC umbrella, ACR operates three diesel plants with an aggregate capacity of 258 MW in different parts of Mindanao to provide peaking and backup power.
ACR will start next month construction of the P3.7-billion 15.1-MW run-of-river hydroelectric power project at the Siguil River basin in Maasim, Sarangani Province, marking its entry into the renewable energy sphere.
By 2021, ACR affiliated power facilities will have around 588 MW of generating capacity, about 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand for that year.