AboitizPower starts 60-MW Cebu battery hub, targets 2027 operations
Daily TribuneABOITIZPOWER, which accounted for almost half of the total net income contributions from Aboitiz Equity Ventures' business units, contributed P10.4 billion in net income to AEV.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of AboitizPower
Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) has begun construction of a 60-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) in Cebu, with commercial operations targeted for next year to bolster grid reliability in the Visayas and support the integration of more renewable energy.
The company said Wednesday the standalone battery facility will rise within the Naga Power Plant Complex in Barangay Colon, Naga City.
Once operational, the BESS will provide contingency and regulating reserve services, enabling the power grid to respond more quickly to fluctuations in electricity supply and demand.
AboitizPower Transition Business Group President Celso C. Caballero III said the project forms part of the company's broader efforts to enhance grid flexibility and resilience through investments in energy infrastructure and technology.
"Naga BESS represents transformation in action. It reflects our efforts to strengthen the energy system by investing in people, infrastructure, and technology to enhance flexibility, resilience, and reliability of the grid," Caballero said.
Battery energy storage systems store excess electricity and discharge it when needed to supplement supply or stabilize the grid, making them a key technology for integrating intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan welcomed the investment, saying it would help improve the reliability and efficiency of the country's power system as renewable energy capacity expands.
"The Department of Energy commends AboitizPower for their continued confidence in the Philippine energy future. Your investment demonstrates the innovation and sustainability that can go beyond what we have been dreaming of," Marasigan said.
"While we continuously convince and invite investment in renewable energy technologies, we need this technological support to create a reliable and efficient system," he added.
According to AboitizPower, the project marks the continued transformation of the Naga Power Plant Complex, which was built by the National Power Corp. in the 1980s and acquired by the company in 2018 under the government's privatization program.
The site's former coal- and diesel-fired generating units have since been decommissioned and demolished as AboitizPower repurposes the complex to support the country's energy transition.