Semirara Mining and Power Corp. expects an improved power generation business with the full operations of the Sem Calaca Power Corp. unit 2 in the second half of 2024.
SMPC president and chief operating officer Maria Cristina Gotianun said they were cautiously optimistic that the power business would be better this year.
“We’re looking at a better income, but we also had some plant outages…We have a plant outage for Unit 1, Unit 3, which we recently completed, and Unit 4,” Gotianun said.
Gotianun said Sem Calaca unit 2 (300 MW) underwent rehabilitation in the first half for 80 days, with the impact to be felt in the second half. The plant was operating at an average capacity of 175 megawatts in 2023.
“The average price at the WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] was higher last year than this year. So we’re hoping that it will be better. But it really depends on the WESM prices. So let us see how it will compensate,” she said.
SMPC’s net income fell 28 percent in the first quarter to P6.5 billion from P9 billion a year earlier due to weaker market prices which muted the impact of higher coal shipments and energy sales volume.
SMPC said coal indices declined on weak demand from developed countries, driven by changes in energy policies, a shift toward renewable sources and slowing economic activities.
The Newcastle index plunged 49 percent from an average of $247.8 to $126, while the Indonesian Coal Index 4 (ICI4) retreated 25 percent from an average of $76.5 to $57.2.
Average spot prices in the Luzon-Visayas electricity market fell 27 percent from P6.28 to P4.61 on lower fuel costs and increased supply.
SMPC’s coal sales jumped 37 percent from 3.5 million metric tons (MMT) in the first quarter to 4.8 MMT largely driven by exports which accelerated 78 percent from 1.5 MMT to 2.7 MMT.
Domestic shipments grew 6 percent from 2 MMT to 2.1 MMT, influenced by an uptick in internal sales due to the 92-percent plant availability, the highest in the company’s history.
Gross generation increased 7 percent from 1,316 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 1,408 GWh, while electricity sales volume also rose 3 percent from 1,241 GWh to 1,281 GWh on higher bilateral contract quantity (BCQ) sales, which offset the decline in spot market dispatch for the period.
