NEWS

“There is a probability that Toyota will not enter Siguil for security reasons. It’s in the red area for them because of the peace and order; that peace and order overhangs,” ACR acting CEO Tirso G. Santillan said.

The Siguil hydro project is the company’s first renewable-energy (RE) venture, with commercial operations targeted in 2022. ACR will still pursue the hydro project.

Toyota Tsusho Corp. has been a longtime partner of ACR on a per-project basis. It has a 25-percent stake in Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC), Southern Philippines Power Corp. (SPPC) and Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC).

ACR officials said last year Toyota Tsusho is keen on investing in ACR’s RE projects, particularly hydro resources, in Visayas and Mindanao.

“Their issue is the risk in some areas in Mindanao. Zamboanga, and then outside of GenSan, is a gray area to them. Although they entered SEC, Siguil and Kalaong are in the mountains. I don’t know if Sindangan is in Zamboanga del Norte. They may not enter there either,” Santillan explained.  Toyota Tsusho is, however, interested in another hydro project not located in Mindanao.

“It is clear for them that if we invite them into Bago, they will go in. They want to go into renewables. In fact, meron silang subsidiary that is a renewable company,” Santillan said.

ACR plans to develop specific sites with a hydro potential totaling about 200 MWs in the following sites: Bago River in Negros Occidental, Sindangan River in Zamboanga del Norte, and locations in Davao Oriental, Maitum Sarangani, the two Agusan Provinces and Surigao del Sur.

Santillan said the company has identified four sites along Bago River that can produce 42MW in total capacity.

“After Siguil, there are two possible projects that will be implemented. That’s Bago and Sindangan. We’re moving toward implementing Bago.  As soon as we’re ready to go, Toyota Tsusho will…the process is long. Japanese companies want to be certain.”

ACR operates three diesel power facilities—the 103-MW diesel plant of Mapalad Power Corp. (MPC) in Iligan City, the 55-MW facility of SPPC in Alabel, Sarangani, and the 100-MW power plant of WMPC in Zamboanga City.

Meanwhile, the second unit of the coal-fired power plant of SEC in Maasim, Sarangani, will start operating later this year with an additional 105 MW. By then, ACR will have a total installed capacity of 468 MW by the end of 2019. Once the Siguil hydro project begins operating in the next three years and when the San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City goes onstream soon after, the company is expected to account for around 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand.

The present situation of excess power capacity in Mindanao was brought about by the influx of baseload coal-fired power plants which started to come online begining 2015.

Santillan said such climate of surplus capacity also posed challenges to ACR’s diesel plants and prompted the company to embark on initiatives for these plants to provide ancillary services to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to supply peaking, back-up and replacement power to Mindanao’s distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.

Last year, NGCP signed an ancillary services procurement agreement (Aspa) with WMPC for its 100-MW diesel plant in Zamboanga City to provide the grid operator with dispatchable generating capacity, reactive power support and black start capability that would stabilize the power grid in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Also last year, ACR tendered a proposal for its SPPC diesel plant in Sarangani to provide ancillary services to NGCP in order to help stabilize the power grid in Region 12.

In 2013 ACR decided to reclassify itself as a primarily power company rather than a holding company. In these few years, Santillan said, the company has managed to make a name for itself as a major player in Mindanao’s power industry.

Source: Busines Mirror