Alsons mulls formation of energy consortium

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. is considering the formation of an energy-related consortium composed of foreign and domestic companies.

The consortium could be composed of the three prospective strategic partners presently holding talks with Alsons for a 40 percent stake in the company. "Or it could even be a combination of the prospective partners and other interested groups," Tirso G. Santillan Jr., Alsons Consolidated executive vice president, said.

Santillan explained that the formation of a consortium would blend well with the company's plans to enter into the power generation, transmission and distribution sectors.

The Alcantara-dominated firm is even looking at forming more than one consortium as it has ambitious plans for the energy business, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao.

One consortium could concentrate on the generation sub-sector and another in the transmission sub-sector. Or a combination of any one sub-sector with the retail or distribution business. The consortium could be a combination of technical- and financially-inclined firms depending on the project.

Santillan cited the example of hydro-power generation, an area that Alsons Consolidated is unfamiliar with, and said a consortium may have companies specializing in that technical field.

If Alsons Consolidated were to acquire, the Agus power complex in Mindanao, from the National Power Corp.) (Napocor) the consortium could be a balance of technical and financial partners. Alsons is comfortable with diesel- and coal-fired plants but not hydro plants.

The 700-megawatt (MW) Agus project is compose of eight power plants that can not be sold separately. That means a minimum of $700-million following the general formula that a company has to invest at least $1-million for every megawatt.

Alsons Consolidated is presently holding talks with three foreign firms to acquire 40 percent equity in the company. The prospective strategic partners are Singapore Power, the Electricity Generating Co. Plc of Thailand, and a still unnamed utility firm based in the United States.

Inviting a strategic partner is still the immediate concern of Alsons Consolidated, company officials said.

The company has an existing partnership with the Aboitiz conglomerate, which operates several power plants serving the Mindanao grid with a capacity of 253-MWs. The Mindanao grid has a peak demand of about 973 MW with an annual demand growth of 10 percent.