BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Western Visayas’ peak power demand will increase by 953 megawatts (MW) in 2029, the Regional Development Council 6 (RDC-6) projected.
In its Regional Development Plan for 2023–2028, the council noted the continuing economic and infrastructure developments in the region will increase the power demand from 645 MW in 2019 to 953 MW in 2029.
Citing data from the Department of Energy (DOE), the council stressed there is a large amount of un-contracted demand for power from 173.5 MW in 2020 to 751.4 MW in 2029.
It warned that the existing power plants and substation capacities may not be enough to serve the increasing demand, particularly with the fast-growing metropolis like the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod, and Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.
“This means that there is a supply deficit in the region, especially during evening peak demand,” the council noted.
Panay Island has more than 400 MW of power supply while the demand is around 420 MW, according to the DOE.
In terms of renewable energy contribution to the island, 20 MW come from wind energy, in addition to Guimaras wind power which generates about 50 MW. Some 8 MW of energy are sourced from hydropower generating facilities.
Western Visayas power generation mix is coal-dependent. The region generated a total of 3,603-gigawatt (GWh) per hour in 2021, sourcing 69.5 percent, or 2,504, GWh from coal and 28.65 percent from renewable energy, the council stressed.
Panay Island sources most of its power supply from Palm Concepcion Coal Power Plant (135 MW) in the southeastern part and Panay Energy Development Corp. (317 MW) in the southern part.
CHALLENGES
The RDC-6 noted that Western Visayas faces several challenges that hamper its goal to make energy more secure, affordable and resilient.
These include challenges in securing permits and legal compliances from the local government units, the DOE, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“Timeless completion and upgrading of the energy projects will require coordinated efforts across all levels of government and the active engagement of the private sector, particularly in financing the installation, operation, and resiliency of the infrastructure facilities,” the RDC-6 said.
It added that an efficient transition to cleaner energy will ensure that households and firms in the region will have better access to affordable and more sustainable sources of fuel and electricity.
The council proposes green energy to enable the region to build adaptive and resilient communities that can significantly contribute to the country and global movements toward a low-carbon future.
The council also said that distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in Western Visayas have “low absorptive capacity” in addressing the demands of energy transition and energy security.
“These challenges include technical and financial constraints, dilapidated distribution facilities, unreliable power supply, and delayed approval of capital expenditure by the ERC and lack of transparency,” the council said.
It added: “With more challenges, the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives need to boost and modernize their services to meet the demands of their customers and global trends.”
How can we achieve a timely and cost-effective delivery of energy in the region?
To increase power generation capacity for the region, the council said that potential sites for additional power generation capacity will be explored as areas for renewable energy sources of biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, ocean, and wind energy, collectively known as the “BiGSHOW.”
“There will be a thorough assessment of micro hydro facilities especially in communities or areas that are geographically inaccessible to the main grid will be conducted,” the council said.
It noted there are more than 30 micro hydropower plants installed on Panay Island. These include the 10 mini hydropower and two micro hydro sites being developed in the towns of Janiuay and Lambunao, which have a total capacity of 2,723 kW.
“Rebuilding, upgrading, and repurposing these mini hydro power plants will have immediate impacts not only to energy transition but also to the overall development of Western Visayas,” the council said.
It added that these facilities will be critical in upgrading the communities’ irrigation systems, potable water supply, inland fisheries, post-harvest and storage facilities, and tourism and watershed protection.
The council said that emerging technologies will be considered such as technological advancements and innovations in storage and dispatch ability of renewable energy for power stability.
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
The council said the DOE has identified at least 79 renewable energy projects in Western Visayas. Of the number, the top three projects are solar with 28, hydro with 23, and wind with 17 projects.
Negros Occidental has the largest number of renewable energy with 49 projects. However, the power sector continues to face delays in the review, permitting process and approval of contracts.
The council also attributed the delays to a lack of LGU endorsement, land conversion, and NCIP’s process of securing certification of precondition and free, prior, and informed consent.
“The intermittent output of renewable energy power plants will be addressed through projects such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) and pumped-hydro storage.
The BESS, when connected to appropriate nodes in the transmission system, may defer the need for additional transmission facilities by supplying the peak demand of the grid and end users.
“Thus, when peak demand exceeds the capability of the transmission network it eliminates transmission congestion,” the council said.
By 2025, with the completion of the 230kV Cebu-Negros-Panay Backbone power transmission project, the total available transmission capacity for generation in addition to committed plants is 400 MW for Panay and 500 MW for Negros.
The council said the competitive renewable energy zone (CREZ) for Panay and Negros is 2,696 for solar and 2,628 for wind.
“Grid interconnections will improve the efficiency and quality of power in the distribution lines while significantly reducing system losses and the overall cost of electricity to local consumers,” the council noted.
The completion and modernization of the power transmission lines will be prioritized in anticipation of the projected increase of peak demand of 953.3 MW in 2029, the entry of new power plants, and the increase in power exchange between Panay, Negros and Cebu.
This entails an additional circuit of 230 kV submarine cable between islands.
The transmission corridor from Barotac Viejo substation in Iloilo and Bacolod substation in Negros Occidental will also be developed and upgraded to include a submarine cable system and overhead transmission lines.
RDC’s Regional Development Plan for 2023–2028 in Region 6 is deemed as the “socioeconomic development blueprint” of Western Visayas that promises economic and social transformation through job creation, provision of more income-earning opportunities, and acceleration of poverty reduction.
The six-year plan implementation period is deemed crucial as the Philippines targets to have at least 35 percent renewable energy (RE) share in the power generation mix (in megawatt per hour MWh) by 2030 and greater than 50 percent RE share by 2040./PN
