by Alena Mae S. Flores – August 30, 2016 at 11:10 pm
from Manila Standard Today
Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp., a unit of Semirara Mining and Power Corp., obtained provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission to operate two units of its 300-megawatt, coal-fired power plant expansion in Calaca, Batangas province..
Semirara said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Southwest Luzon on August 26, 2016 began commercial operations of units 3 and 4 at 140 MW each after receiving the go-signl from the ERC.
Semirara said the August 26 date was the effective date of its participation in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity.
Semirara said units 3 and 4 started to initially run in the last week of March below their capacity at 150 MW each.
“We have been collecting revenues during testing and commissioning. The delay in commercial operations was only minor. No effect on our revenue projects,” Semirara chairman Isidro Consunji said.
Semirara reported a consolidated net income after tax of P6.35 billion in the first six months of 2016, up 35 percent from P4.71 billion year-on-year.
Semirara said net of eliminations, coal production, Sem-Calaca Power Corp., and Southwest Luzon contributed P2.8 billion, P1.31 billion and P2.26 billion, respectively.
Sem-Calaca Power owns the 600-MW coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas which the Consunji Group acquired from the government in 2009.
Southwest Luzon expanded the power plant complex by 300 MW.
Revenues from coal reached P10.94 billion during the period while those of Sem-Calaca and Southwest Luzon totaled P4.522 billion and P3.151 billion, respectively.
The company said coal production increased 14 percent year-on-year to 5.9 million metric tons from 5.2 million MT. The production is inclusive of unwashed coal.
Coal sales volume increased 55 percent to 6.6 million MT from 4.2 million in the first half last year.
Energy generation of Sem-Calaca, meanwhile, declined 44 percent to 1,212 gigawatthours from 2,165 gWh last year.
Unit 2 was on maintenance shutdown for the whole of first quarter and came back online mid-April. Total energy sold decreased 33 percent to 1,390 GWh from 2,078 GWh in the first half of last year.
Southwest Luzon, meanwhile. generated 754 GWh.
Total energy sold, inclusive of energy sourced from the spot market, is 757 GWh.
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