Alsons energy unit expands to more areas in Mindanao

Sarangani Energy Corp., a part of the Alsons group, is eyeing expansion into power outage-prone areas of Mindanao following the completion of the commissioning of its second 105-MW coal-fired power plant.

In a statement, the company said it was looking into opportunities in the provinces of Davao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.

Sarangani Energy is particularly keen on serving the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Dapitan, Digos, Dipolog, Koronadal, Kidapawan and Pagadian and other areas in South Cotabato that are not yet reached by the first 105-MW unit of its facility in Maasim town, which started commercial operations in 2017.

With the second unit online and the power facility’s capacity doubled to 210 MW, the company said it would now be able to provide electricity to at least six million people in Mindanao.

Saragani Energy “is credited to have provided the much needed boost to Maasim’s local economy, bringing the once third-class municipality up to its current first-class status,” it said.

“Aside from the coal-fired plant, Alsons is also investing $650 million in renewable energy in the next six years starting with a 15-MW run-of-river hydro project in Siguil River also located in Maasim, Sarangani,” it added.

The P4.25-billion Siguil hydro plant is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2021.

Another project in the pipeline is San Ramon Power Inc.’s 105-MW baseload coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City, which is targeting commercial operations in 2022.