Aboitiz Power Corp., the listed investment arm of the Aboitiz Group for energy-related ventures, further increased its investments in coal plant operator STEAG State Power, Inc. to augment capacity.

AboitizPower disclosed in a stock report on Thursday that it acquired an additional 15.6 percent equity stake in STEAG, which effectively raised its equity interest in the 210-megawatt coal-fired power plant to 85 percent.

“In effect, AboitizPower expands its attributable net sellable capacity from the facility without adding new coal capacity to the grid,” the company said.

The STEAG power plant, located in PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao, began commercial operations in November 2006.

AboitizPower initially obtained a 34 percent stake in STEAG in 2007, later gaining an additional 35.4 percent in 2022.

The STEAG power plant remains a crucial part of the Mindanao power grid. Its continued operation, coupled with the energization of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection, helps meet the growing electricity demand and maintains grid stability amidst increasing variable renewable energy sources.

AboitizPower aims to enhance energy security by continuously expanding, managing, and optimizing its diverse generation portfolio, with a focus on investments in new renewable energy capacity.

The company’s assets such as 17-megawatt, or MW, binary geothermal power plant in Tiwi, Albay; the 159-MW peak solar plant in Laoag, Pangasinan; the 173-MW peak solar project in Calatrava, Negros Occidental; and the 44-MW solar plant in Armenia, Tarlac are all expected to offer new capacities to the grid.

AboitizPower, which presently has the largest and most diversified local renewable energy platform in terms of installed capacity under its operational control, aims to support the government's goal by investing P190 billion until 2030 to have a portfolio of 9,200 MW evenly split between renewable energy and thermal sources.

Close to 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects—including wind and solar farms and more geothermal capacities—are currently in the company's pipeline.