SMPC triples royalty payments to P1.69B

By Riza Lozada

Integrated energy company Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has tripled its first half royalty payments to the Department of Energy (DOE) to P1.69 billion from P575 million a year ago.

The surge in government remittances was driven by the SMPC’s increased production and expanding operations. The company is targeting an annual coal production of 16 million metric tons in the next two to three years. Last year, SMPC produced 12 million metric tons of the indigenous fuel.

Of the P1.69 billion, about 676 million will go to the local government units where SMPC operates.

By law, the province of Antique will receive P135 million while the Municipality of Caluya and Barangay Semirara will receive P304 million and P237 million, respectively. The rest of the amount, or over P1 billion, will be retained by the national government.

“Our continued partnership with the DOE allows us to create and deliver shared value to the government and our host communities. With the increased royaltypayments, they can undertake more programs and projects for our countrymen,” said SMPC President and COO Victor Consunji.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, local government units are entitled to a 40 percent share of royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources.

In 2015, SMPC remittances accounted for 83 percent of the P2.2 billion total government royalty collections from energy resource and production. Western Visayas, SMPC’s host region, received the biggest LGU share at nearly P725 million.

SMPC is the only power producer in the country that owns and mines its own fuel source, allowing it to generate affordable baseload power for the Luzon and Visayas grids.