SALES OF DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) rose by a fifth in the second quarter of 2018, driven by the demand for electricity in Palawan, Mindoro, and Masbate.
The power unit of listed conglomerate DMCI Holdings, Inc. said consolidated sales reached 79.93 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the April to June period, 20% higher than the 66.57 GWh it sold in the same period a year ago.
This brought DPC’s sales volume in the first half to 142.91 GWh, 19% higher than the 120.42 GWh seen in the first semester of 2017. The bulk of sales came from Palawan, accounting for 43%, while Masbate had 37% and Mindoro had 20%.
“The dramatic growth was principally due to the National Power Corporation, local government units and electric cooperatives, and their collective effort to address line issues in the missionary areas,” DPC President Nestor D. Dadivas was quoted as saying in a statement.
DPC sold a total of 61.57 GWh to Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) during the first half, 30% higher than what it delivered in the same period a year ago. The company attributed the increase to Palawan’s growing tourism industry.
Energy sales to Masbate Electric Cooperative (MASELCO) also went up 11% to 53.10 GWh during the first half, as the company noted the expansion of commercial businesses in the area.
In Mindoro, 28.24 GWh were sold to Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, 13% higher year-on-year. The company was able to maximize its plant capacity following Mindoro’s rehabilitation of its 69Kv transmission lines.
“With their continued rehabilitation of distribution lines, improvement of transmission lines and prioritization of new interconnection facilities, DPC can supply more electricity to more communities in the next 12-48 months,” the company said.
Aside from MASELCO, ORMECO, and PALECO, DPC also sells electricity to Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative. Founded in 2006, DPC provides electricity to areas not connected to the main transmission grid.
Earlier this year, DPC said it will be spending P160 million to acquire seven new diesel generating sets for its Masbate and Palawan operations. The new units will have a total capacity of 11.2 megawatts, raising its generation capacity in the two missionary areas to 90 MW, 14% higher than what it had last year. — Arra B. Francia
