Alsons power unit raising capital to P4.25B

Sarangani Energy Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc., said its board had approved the increase in the company’s authorized capital stock to P4.25 billion from P5 million.

This was meant to cover the equity investment in the development, construction and operation of the planned $450-million, 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani, the company said in a statement issued Monday.

In a separate phone interview, Alsons Power business unit manager Oscar Benedict Contreras III said the proposed hike in the authorized capital stock, which will mean the issuance of more shares, was filed in the Securities and Exchange Commission last month. The capital stock will consist of 4.25 billion shares with a par value of P1 per share.

The board of Sarangani Energy also gave the go-ahead to Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. of South Korea to proceed with the first phase of the coal facility, involving the construction of a 100-MW unit.

Officials and engineers of Daelim Industrial have already conducted their first ocular inspection, which signaled the start of the detailed design and engineering works.

Contreras said the construction of the power plant might start next year.

The first phase of Sarangani Energy’s coal facility is expected to start operations by early 2015. For the first 100-MW unit, about 70 MW will be earmarked for South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II), while the remaining 30 MW will be sold to the grid.

Alsons Consolidated also said it was pushing through with its planned 100-MW coal facility in Zamboanga City through another subsidiary, San Ramon Power Corp. This is expected to start commercial operations by 2016.

In the meantime, the Alcantara Group said it was awaiting the results of an ongoing review of its acquisition of the 102-MW Iligan diesel facility, which was being conducted by the Commission on Audit.

The city government of Iligan took over the diesel plant from state-run National Power Corp. about two years ago. It later awarded the plant to a subsidiary of Alsons Consolidated, Mapalad Power Corp., after it won a public bidding held in 2011.

The company is planning to set aside P1.2 billion to rehabilitate the facility and bring it up to its full capacity within a six-month period.