By Myrna M. Velasco

With the untimely demise of Victor A. Consunji last month, the power generation and coal mining business units of the Consunji group is now headed by Maria Cristina Consunji-Gotianun.

Consunji-Gotianun, married to EastWest Banking Corp. Chairman Jonathan Gotianun, has been serving as executive vice president of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC), the integrated power generation and mining business segments of the Consunjis, prior to her new appointment.

Aside from her new designation at SMPC, Consunji-Gotianun has likewise been appointed as officer-in-charge (OIC) to various SMPC subsidiaries – namely, the SEM-Calaca Power Corporation (SCPC) and Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC).

The SEM-Calaca power facility was acquired by Consunji group from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation – which it had rehabilitated since then so it can shore up its electricity generation efficiency.

The company’s other power plant, the 300MW SLPGC, serves as an expansion capacity that is sited close to its Calaca power generating asset.

The Consunji group, in a tie-up venture with the power generation unit of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is also pushing for the construction of another 750MW coal-fired power project in Batangas via corporate vehicle Saint Raphael Power Generation Corporation.

That particular power project’s implementation, however, has been stalled due to delays in the regulatory approval of its power supply agreement.

Beyond the on-grid power assets of the Consunjis, the conglomerate is also pursuing various power projects at off-grid areas via its subsidiary DMCI Power Corporation.

On the coal mining segment, the conglomerate has reported a slowdown in sales by 10 percent in the last quarter of financial reporting – that had been on account of the 35 percent drop in production that it had within the period.

The company emphasized that its coal output had dipped to 1.7 million metric tons within July-September 2018 compared to the heftier production of 2.6 million metric tons in the same period in 2017.

The Consunji firm explained that “continuous heavy rains in July and August resulted in slippery roads and made working area unsafe, hampering access to coal.”

Overall sales, however, were still rosier if compared to the scale of drop in output – as the sales decline had just been 10 percent to 8.9 million metric tons as against 9.9 million MT a year prior.