Energy officials say power barges and battery energy storage systems can address the imbalance in power supply and demand in the Visayas

CEBU, Philippines – Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on Monday, October 12, that the Visayas could face more red alerts in 2027 if the government is unable to secure ancillary services procurement agreements (ASPAs) for 250 megawatts of power reserves.

For months, major coal-fired power plants in Visayas have been on forced and unplanned outages due to operational damage, system failures, and the region’s growing energy demand.

“We overwork our coal power plants. Imbes na magmaintenance siya or dapat hindi siya 100%, talagang sinasagad natin kasi kulang ang supply (Instead of doing maintenance or it not operating at 100%, we’re really overworking it because the supply is lacking),” Garin said in an interview during a summit convening energy experts and officials in Cebu.

Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) as of April 30 showed that Visayas’ coal plants contribute at least 1,233 megawatts of dependable energy capacity of the existing 3,449 megawatts of dependable capacity in the region — a third of the region’s dependable power mix is coal-based. 

In 2025, system peak demand in the Visayas had grown to 2,691 megawatts from 2,201 megawatts in 2020, according to DOE data. This presents a huge problem to power plants as they are forced to work overtime to meet the demand, exposing plants to high-stress and early deterioration.

To address this, Garin said that the Visayas should have its own set of ancillary services, particularly battery energy storage systems (BESS), to offset the lack of supply and keep plants operating at a stable capacity.

“The batteries will work more like a stabilizer para kung kailan kulang ang supply, tapos malaki ang demand, siya ang mag-susupply (so when there is a lack of supply, and the demand is great, this will be the one to supply),” Garin added.

Batteries and barges

As early as May 22, the DOE directed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to execute ASPAs for at least 250 megawatts of Visayas reserves. On October 5, the DOE called out the NGCP for failing to file the required ASPAs.

“The Visayas needed these reserves on the grid months ago. What was missing was timely execution. Delays in contracting left consumers with less protection when generating units unexpectedly went offline,” Garin said in the DOE’s October 5 press release.

As a system operator, it is the NGCP’s responsibility to balance the supply and demand of power to maintain the quality of electricity that flows through the grid.

Without the ASPAs, the DOE reported that red alerts could occur for at least 22 of the 52 weeks in 2027, around February to November. With the ASPAs, the number of weeks with red alerts could drop to only four weeks.

At present, the Visayas grid has 134 megawatts of dependable capacity from its BESS. 

Garin shared, in a presentation on the Visayas energy road map during the Cebu summit, that they are expecting to put up at least 250 megawatts of BESS and deploy power barges — power plants installed on a barge — between 2026 and 2027.

But the reserves are only for the short term. In the long term, the DOE is hoping to increase the region’s energy supply with new base load plants that provide steady power. This, Garin said, would come in the form of coal, nuclear, diesel, and geothermal energy sources.

By 2028, the DOE expects 150 megawatts in baseload capacity from an expansion project of Therma Visayas Inc.’s coal-fired power plant in Toledo City. This project is not covered under the country’s moratorium on new coal-power projects.

Apart from the additional 150 megawatts, a 220-megawatt gas-based power plant in Cebu, and 470 megawatts from a renewable energy plant in Cebu and Bohol are set to be finished before the end of 2028. Panay Island is also expected to get a 220-megawatt gas-based power plant and a 135-megawatt baseload plant in the same year.

“We have a very fragile system but the good thing is we are already working on it to make it less fragile,” Garin said. – Rappler.com