Aboitiz to transmit power from Luzon to Cebu soon

CEBU, Philippines - Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP) can start transmitting power from Luzon to Cebu as soon as it completes the necessary paperworks at the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

The company initially plans to import least 10 megawatts during off-peak hours through the existing submarine cables connecting Luzon to Leyte and Leyte to Cebu to its sister-company Balamban Enerzone. However, it is also looking at augmenting power supply in Cebu by offering this to different power distribution companies in the province, especially the Visayas Electric Company (VECO), which is also partly owned by the Aboitizes.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. president and chief executive officer Erramon I. Aboitiz said that this need should have been implemented “yesterday”, but due to protocol and legality issues of importing power passing through two grids, this has to take some time.

At present, the Leyte-Cebu submarine cables transmits 360 MW from the geothermal fields in Leyte. If this proposal will be granted, it can transmit power only during off-peak hours from Luzon, especially from its Tiwi-Makban geothermal complex, Aboitiz said.

"This is the first time that it’s going to happen. We’re working with the regulator (Energy Regulatory Commission) and the transmission company (NGCP) to see how this will be possible," said Juan Antonio E. Bernad, AP executive vice-president for strategy and regulatory affairs.

Once implemented, AP will not only provide additional power supply to Balamban Enerzone, but will also allow Cebuano power consumers to avail of renewable energy product, through the company’s newly introduced “Cleanergy” brand.

While importing power supply to Balamban is seen as easier now because it is under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), importation of power supply to distribution companies will take longer, as it will have to wait for the implementation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the Visayas        

“We exploring different opportunities to made power available to Cebu and Visayas,” Aboitiz said during the press conference held Tuesday to introduce AP’s new Spiral Logo.

The company does not need to invest on this move, as infrastructure for power importation is already in place. However, it has to go through some processes and negotiation with the concerned agencies.

Probably, after the company completes the talks with ERC and NGCP, power augmentation from Luzon will be implemented by next year, Aboitiz said.

Also, Aboitiz said the company is talking with different sugar mills in Negros for the production of bagasse-based power that will be marketed to distribution utilities in the grid.

The Cebu-Negros-Panay grid has a total dependable capacity of about 976 MW. But demand, including the required spinning reserve of 180 MW, reaches nearly 1,100 MW.

Cebu, which requires a total of over 500 MW daily this year, currently has a dependable capacity of less than 300 MW on its own. With the completion of the coal plants, Cebu would have sufficient power supply.

The supply situation is expected to stabilize early next year, when the first of the three 82-MW coal plants being built by Aboitiz Power and its partners under the Cebu Energy Development Corp. is completed.

However, he said although there would be additional supply from the new power plants here, demand is also expected to rise. Besides, clamor for power source from renewable energy is gaining strong interest from consumers.