DOE pursues ancillary services to boost Visayas power supply

Local

THE Department of Energy (DOE) is intensifying efforts to secure additional ancillary services to help stabilize the power situation in the Visayas, where recurring yellow and red alerts have underscored the region's tight supply-demand conditions.

In a press briefing on Monday, June 1, Undersecretary Mario Marasigan said the agency is working closely with stakeholders to bring in additional capacity that can provide reserve power and support grid reliability.

"We are looking at providing ancillary services to augment the energy requirements of the Visayas," Marasigan said, noting that the region requires at least 150 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity to stabilize supply.

The DOE is currently evaluating four projects that could provide ancillary services, including power barges, modular generator sets, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

A 30-MW facility in Mactan, Cebu has already been confirmed and is undergoing commissioning and testing.

The agency is also negotiating for the deployment of an additional 20-MW diesel generator set.

Marasigan said the DOE has formally written the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to facilitate direct negotiations for ancillary services that could immediately support the Visayas grid.

The region has been grappling with a series of power supply disruptions in recent weeks.

Since May 12, DOE said the Visayas grid has recorded 17 yellow alerts and four red alerts, with yellow alerts continuing to be declared as of June 1.

Available capacity in the Visayas grid has remained constrained due to the simultaneous outages of several major generating units.

Among the facilities currently out of operation are two units of Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) with a combined capacity of 320 MW, PEDC Unit 3 with 150 MW, and KEPCO Unit 2 with another 150 MW.

The DOE expects KEPCO Unit 2 to return to service on June 2, while PEDC Unit 3 is targeted to resume operations by July 3. The two TVI units are expected to come back online later in August.

To help ease the supply situation, Marasigan said an additional 68.99 MW from two renewable energy projects is expected to be injected into the Visayas grid.(MyTVCebu)