Published June 7, 2021, 6:00 AM
ERC hints ‘pricing play’
The country’s giant power firms have been tagged as the culprits in last week’s rotational brownouts with “forced outages’ of their power plants going beyond the time allowance prescribed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
In a Congressional hearing on Friday, ERC chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera further hinted of “pricing play” as the secondary price cap in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) had been hit 418 times this year. A ‘play’ in the market angle is also being scrutinized by the regulatory body given the price spikes that will then be punishing consumers with higher electric bills.
In the midst of a pandemic that the government cannot fully address efficiently, Filipino consumers are being slapped with added burdens of persistent rotating brownouts that may last until June 7 this year, plus unwarranted spikes in electricity prices that surged to as high as P37 per kilowatt hou
As Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has his attention on the sizzling political tension at the administration’s political party PDP-Laban, the power grid of Luzon grid made its own scene as it plunged Filipino consumers into brownouts while they are being inconvenienced with extremely hot summer wea
Published May 8, 2021, 6:00 AM
The consolidated net income of Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) significantly climbed by 93-percent to P2.3 billion within first quarter this year versus P1.2 billion in the same period last year.
On stream of revenues, that also surged by 27-percent for the company to P9.3 billion in the first three months of 2021 as against a leaner P7.3 billion within the same stretch last year.
The coal mining segment of SMPC’s operations, in particular, had posted 16-percent year on year uptrend, with revenues rising to P7.1 billion from a year-ago level of P6.1 billion.
The firm emphasized that its sales volume had been higher by 21-percent within January-March this year to 3.9 million metric tons (MMT) vis-à-vis 3.2 million MT in a parallel quarter last year.
Published March 15, 2021, 12:47 PM
Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) will funnel P4.0 billion capital expenditures (capex) for its businesses this year, primarily for the purchase of mining and support equipment for its coal mining venture.
In a statement to the media, the company emphasized that P2.9 billion will be earmarked for the targeted equipment procurement; and the balance of P1.1 billion will bankroll preventive and maintenance programs for its power generating facilities.
The Consunji firm has two power plants – the Sem-Calaca Power Corporation and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation assets – that are both sited in Calaca, Batangas and have been feeding generated electricity into Luzon grid.