ALSONS Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR), said in a disclosure on Monday that it will be focusing on advancing the development of two hydroelectric power projects in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Negros Occidental this year.

These are the 21-megawatt (MW) hydro power plant in Zamboanga del Norte, which is being developed by ACR’s Sindangan Zambo-River Power Corp.; and the 42-MW Bago river hydroelectric power plant in Negros Occidental, the company’s first power project outside of Mindanao.

“The Siguil, Sindangan, and Bago river hydro power plants will be the first three of at least eight run-of-river hydroelectric power plants that ACR plans to develop in the years to come,” ACR Executive Vice-President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr. said.

The company’s initial hydro power project, the 14.5-MW Siguil hydro plant in Sarangani province, will be starting commercial operations in the second quarter of 2023.

“This is all in keeping with the Department of Energy’s mandate to ensure that all key areas have access to readily available sources of renewable energy,” Mr. Santillan said.

In 2021, the company’s attributable net income rose 24.4% to P404.56 million from P325.11 million while consolidated revenues increased by 6.2% to P10.05 billion from P9.46 billion.

“Despite a challenging business environment and the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, we managed to achieve higher revenues and net income attributable to parent due to operating efficiencies and cost cutting measures,” ACR Chief Finance Officer Alexander Benhur M. Simon said.

The company said that its 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. baseload power plant was a key revenue and income driver, delivering a combined output of 974 gigawatt-hours last year from 952 gigawatt-hours in 2020.

Sarangani Energy currently provides power to key areas in Mindanao, including Sarangani province, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Iligan.

In the first quarter of 2022, ACR recorded a 2.9% decline in attributable income to P90.16 million from P92.88 billion a year ago despite a 23.6% rise in revenues to P2.67 billion from P2.16 billion previously.

For the rest of the year, Mr. Simon said, “We expect higher revenues and profit margins as we continue to realize incremental revenues from ancillary services and additional utilization of the available capacity of [Sarangani Energy].”

ACR said that its 100-MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. diesel plant in Zamboanga City was another growth driver for the company.

The plant is the only major power generation facility in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The plant provides power to Zamboanga City and supplies vital ancillary services to stabilize the power grid in Western Mindanao.

ACR has a portfolio of four power facilities with an aggregate capacity of 468 MW serving over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces.

At the stock exchange, ACR shares remained unchanged at P1.01 apiece on Monday. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

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