Deputy House Speaker and Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said establishing coal-fired power plants in Negros Occidental will not be necessary with battery storage systems deployed for the province’s solar farms.
Benitez said on Friday, Nov. 13, that the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has already announced plans to deploy batteries to address the Visayas power shortage, with Negros Occidental, home to numerous solar farms, slated to be the first recipient.
While coal-fired power plants remain a necessity, they can stay in other provinces willing to host them while Negros relies on solar batteries to boost its power supply, he said.
“Coal plants in Iloilo and Cebu are upgrading, so we don’t really need to put them here,” Benitez said.
“I have always advocated that the sooner we are not dependent on fossil fuel, the better it is for us,” Benitez said, adding that transitioning to electric vehicles is only a matter of time.
NGCP earlier announced the implementation of Project Airbag, a transmission-side battery energy storage initiative designed to give the power grid added flexibility amid tight supply conditions and prepare the country for potential generation constraints from the 2027 El Niño.
Under Project Airbag, battery energy storage systems will store available electricity and release it when the grid faces higher demand, providing NGCP a fast-response tool during short-duration shortages and system disturbances.
NGCP said the initiative comes as the Visayas continues to grapple with tight power supply aggravated by simultaneous generator outages.*
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