BY LENIE LECTURA – AUGUST 15, 2022
from Business Mirror

Alcantara-led Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) recorded a 20-percent drop in earnings to P689 million in the first half from the P871 million recorded in the same period a year ago.

Of which, P364.93 million was booked in the second quarter which is 25 percent lower than the P492.39 million booked in the same period last year.

The lower income figures were mainly due to a one-time recognition of expenses for this year, the company reported Monday.

Revenues went up to P5.4 billion at end-June this year from P4.63 billion lat year. Second quarter revenues were also higher this year at P2.73 billion from P2.47 billion in 2021.

ACR’s 210 mega-watt (MW) Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) baseload power plant continued to be the major revenue and income driver for the company.  SEC currently provides power to key areas in Mindanao including Sarangani Province, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, Samal, Tagum, Kidapawan, and Butuan.

Another key revenue contributor for the company for this period was the continuing operation of the company’s 100 MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) diesel plant in Zamboanga City. WMPC is the only major power generation facility in the Zamboanga Peninsula, providing power to Zamboanga City and supplying vital ancillary services to stabilize the power grid in the Western Mindanao Region.

ACR said it is now focused on building up its renewable energy capacity in the next few years, with around 8 run-of-river hydroelectric power facilities in the company’s pipeline. The first of these hydroelectric power plants is the 14.5-MW Siguil Hydro power plant currently under construction in Maasim, Sarangani, which is targeting to begin operations in the second quarter of 2023.

The next two hydro power facilities slated for development are a 21-MW hydro power plant in Zamboanga del Norte being developed by ACR’s Sindangan Zambo-River Power Corporation and the Bago river hydroelectric power plant in Negros Occidental, the company’s first power project outside of Mindanao, with a planned capacity of up to 42 MW.

“Renewable energy sources will comprise at least half of ACR’s long-term energy mix,” ACR Chairman and President Nicasio Alcantara said.

The company is Mindanao’s first private-sector power generator. Currently, it has a portfolio of 4 power facilities with an aggregate capacity of 468 MW serving over 8 million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in the country’s second largest island.

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