Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc., (ACR) posted an 18% increase in net earnings for the first nine months of 2022, to ₱1.35 billion from the ₱1.14 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2021.  Net earnings for the third quarter of 2022 surged over 140% to ₱658.22 million from ₱272.93 million in the same period last year.

The publicly-listed company of the Alcantara Group reported 2022 revenues of ₱9.25 billion for the first nine months and ₱3.85 billion in the third quarter.  Revenues for this year were higher than 2021’s nine-month revenue of ₱7.05 billion and third quarter revenue of ₱2.42 billion.   

The steady rise in revenues from operations during this period was mainly due to the constant improvement in power demand in Mindanao, as day to day activities in the island continue to normalize and recover from the effects of the pandemic.  “We expect power demand in Mindanao to be stable for the rest of the year,” said ACR Deputy Chief Financial Officer Philip Edward B. Sagun.

ACR’s 210 mega-watt (MW) Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) baseload power plant continued to be the key 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 ACR for this period was the continuing operation of the company’s 100 MW Western Mindanao Power Corporation (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 the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to help stabilize the power grid in the Western Mindanao Region.

ACR is now focused on building up its renewable energy capacity in the next few years, with around eight 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 2023. 

The next two hydro power facilities slated for development are a hydro power project in Zamboanga del Norte with a capacity of up to 21 MW, and a hydro power project in the Bago River in Negros Occidental with a planned capacity of up to 42 MW.  “…Eventually, renewable energy sources will comprise at least half of ACR’s long-term energy mix,” ACR Chairman and President Nicasio I. Alcantara stated earlier this year.

The company which is Mindanao’s first private-sector power generator, currently 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 in the country’s second largest island.