Visayas in dire need of power plants

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is calling for the construction of new power plants in the Visayas to address the increase in power demand in the region.

NGCP Assistant Vice President Atty. Cynthia Alabanza said the additional power plants are important to boost the existing capacity, establish reserves, and meet the anticipated boom in investment and population.

She cited Cebu as an example, saying that the province has enough power supply that may soon run thin as power demand rises due to the emergence of more industries and business activities.

“All roads lead to Cebu when we talk about power consumption in the Visayas. Cebu needs more power plants,” Alabanza said.

She added that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, they noted an increase in power demand in Cebu.

“Now, with the economy fully reopening, we are witnessing a substantial surge in power requirements,” Alabanza observed.

On December 18, the Visayas grid only had 241 megawatts (MW) of power reserves, way too low compared to Luzon’s 2,532 MW and Mindanao’s 960 MW.

The entire Visayas grid has a generating capacity of 2,449 MW, while the demand is pegged at 2,209 MW. The island of Cebu accounts for half of the region’s total demand.

Metro Cebu alone needs at least 500MW daily or about half of the province’s demands.

Abner Bardoquillo, NGCP network operations senior manager for Visayas systems operation, said Cebu needs to have more “inland” power plants to attain self-sufficiency in electric supply.

Bardoquillo added with the rising growth in investments and population, Cebu has to generate its power supply without relying on outside-of-provinces sources, especially during emergencies.

The Department of Energy and the NGCP previously cited Cebu as among the main sites for large generation capacity additions.