The Department of Energy (DOE) urged private companies in the power sector to invest in power-generation facilities in the Visayas region to ensure sufficient energy supply in the coming years.
DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Senior Science Research Specialist Noriel Christopher Reyes noted that the demand is greater than the supply, particularly in Cebu Island, prompting the agency to look into several commitment projects.
Reyes revealed that investment briefings are being held to update investors and other stakeholders of the current situation within the Visayas grid.
“Of course, the initial feedback of the investors is what is the current need for power. Once they see the need, the next question is, what assistance could the DOE provide them to streamline their requirements necessary in securing various permits,” Reyes was quoted as saying in a SunStar report.
It was also documented that Central Visayas will need an additional 9,180 MW to ensure stable power supply until 2040.
Reyes noted that a possible reason for the annual increase in energy demand is due to the annual increase in population and number of residential areas.
In a previous report, power supply in Visayas was raised to red alert status since demand reached 2,082 MW while supply was only 2,014 MW.
“However, in the existing generation facilities, or the existing generators here in Cebu, it cannot solely provide the needed demand of Cebu island. That’s why we can see that in the current, basing on the interconnections that I shared earlier, the links, the power generated from Negros, Panay, Leyte, and Samar are being transferred here in Cebu City to meet the demand requirement,” Reyes was quoted saying in the report.
It was also stated that in order to lure companies in investing for generators and power facilities, especially in Cebu, the energy department is pushing for the faithful implementation of the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) Act that mandates specific number of days for the agencies to act upon specific application of permits and licenses.
Additionally, Reyes said that the agency has been fast tracking the implementation of other indicative projects which included the Mindanao-Visayas interconnection and the interruptible load program which asks companies with standby generation capacities to use their own facilities in instances of insufficient power supply.
