New plants seen boosting ACR performance in ‘19

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) sees good prospects for its full-year 2019 performance following a flattish first quarter as its prospective baseload power plants already have secured contracts.

With this, the Mindanao-based company is now pushing for the completion of its renewable energy projects, particularly its hydro power facilities.

“We have good prospects this year mainly with the completion of Sarangani Energy Corp.’s second 105-megawatt generator,” ACR executive vice president Tirso G. Santillan Jr. said in a briefing.

Santillan said the coal-fired generator—which would start operations in the second half of 2019—would boost ACR’s revenue, aside from contributions from its diesel-fired plants that provide ancillary services (electricity supply that helped maintain reliable operations of the power grid).

With these drivers, the executive said ACR’s full-year topline might see a 20-percent boost by the end of the year.

Another baseload project is San Ramon Power Inc.’s 105-MW coal-fired generator in Zamboanga City that will finally start construction in the fourth quarter this year after naming the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

“These prospective baseload plants have nearly all of their capacity fully contracted,” he said, adding that the company had the foresight to enter into power sales agreements early on when Mindanao was still in the midst of a power shortage.

ACR is also pursuing renewable energy projects through run-of-river hydro facilities in Mindanao as well as the Visayas.

“Our first renewable venture—the 14.5-MW Siguil Hydro project—is on-track and we expect to go full blast with civil works later this year as we target the start of commercial operations in 2022,” Santillan said.

ACR is also looking at sites with a hydro potential for about 200 MW, including the Bago River in Negros Occidental, Sindangan river in Zamboanga del Norte, and locations in Davao Oriental, Maitum Sarangani, the two Agusan Provinces and Surigao del Sur.