Alsons Power unit slightly delays operation of Sarangani coal plant

Maasim, Sarangani, Philippines – Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC), a unit of Alsons Power, has delayed the commercial operation of the first 105-megawatt section of its 210-MW coal-fired power plant in the province to January 2016, one month behind the earlier target set.

The company, however said, the development would help provide a lasting and sustainable solution to Mindanao’s five-year-old power shortage.

In a briefing yesterday, Alsons Power project implementation vice president and head of coal operations Nicandro Fucoy said the Phase 1 of the project is 97.91 percent complete as of end-July.

The project, which costs $309 million, would begin commissioning by October and would start operating by end-January 2016.

Earlier this year, the company said Phase 1 of the project is intended to start commissioning in the first half of 2015 and eventually commence commercial operations in the fourth quarter.

But once operational, Fucoy said the plant’s first section would provide power to more than three million residents in the provinces of Sarangani, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Norte, and Agusan del Sur; the cities of General Santos, Iligan, Bayugan, Butuan, Samal, and Tagum as well as key municipalities in Davao del Norte and South Cotabato.

The company is also currently working on the details of Phase 2 for the SEC plant, to have a total capacity of 210 MW by 2018.

Running at full capacity by then, it will service a total of six million, expanding its coverage area to the entire province of South Cotabato and the provinces of Davao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur and key areas in Misamis Oriental and North Cotabato. It will also service the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Dapitan, Digos, Dipolog, Koronadal, Kidapawan, and Pagadian.

The SEC coal-fired power plant is the single largest investment in the province of Sarangani and the entire Region 12 at $570 million.