SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) on Thursday said that it had been informed by its subsidiary about its receipt of the energy regulator’s decision penalizing it for noncompliance with power outage reporting rules.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the company said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) imposed a P400,000 fine on the company’s unit Sem-Calaca Power Corp.
“The case pertains to the failure to comply with the submission of outage occurrence and resumption of operation reports through short message service (SMS) within the prescribed timeline for unplanned outages,” SMPC said.
The outage dates were on Feb. 12, 2019 and April 27, 2019, and the resumption dates of operation were on March 16, 2019 and May 5, 2019, respectively. The regulator directed Sem-Calaca to pay the penalty within 15 days from receipt of the decision.
Sem-Calaca operates two units of 300-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Calaca, Batangas. SMPC, a vertically integrated power generator that runs on the fuel it produces, acquired the plant from the government in 2009.
SMPC is the country’s largest coal producer, supplying fuel to power plants, cement factories, and industrial facilities. It also exports coal to China, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and nearby markets.
Earlier this month, SMPC said that it was set to make its second trial shipment to Japan as it moves to reduce its reliance on the Chinese market. The company said it would export in June up to 50,000 metric tons of Semirara coal to Shikoku Electric Power Corp. for its 700-megawatt coal-fired ultra-supercritical power station.
On Thursday, its shares rose 0.18% or five centavos to P28.25 each.