20 megawatt battery energy reserve proposed for Barangay Ermita

Proposed site for a lithium-ion battery reserve.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — An energy company is proposing to build a 20-megawatt battery energy reserve in Barangay Ermita here that will help stabilize the current energy grid supply in the Visayas.

The Cebu City Council had been presented a proposal for a lithium-ion battery that would be installed in a half-hectare lot beside the CPPC Diesel Plant Complex that the energy company will be renting from Visayan Electric.

The Cell Power Energy Corporation (CPEC), an affiliate of Aboitiz Power, said the lithium-ion battery would serve as a stabilizer to the current energy supply by using advanced technology to detect fluctuations in the grid and automatically respond to it.

However, this energy reserve does not provide additional energy supply to the Visayas, but only stabilizes what the region already gets supplied in the first place.

Lew Carlo Lopez, a representative of the CPEC, told the City Council that the battery project will help control and minimize energy frequency shortages or brownouts in Cebu and all those supplied by the Visayas grid.

“We see that while the supply needs of the Visayas grid will increase pagkatapos nitong COVID, we will really need this auxilliary service,” he said.

CCPEC said this is also a response of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to the mandate of the national government to provide firmer and more stabilized power to the regions including the Visayas.

The development of the lithium-ion battery site will be done by CCPEC and they will be selling their services to the NGCP.

Any cost for the development or services, as agreed upon by CCPEC and NGCP, will then be passed on to the consumers although there is no clear amount yet.

CCPEC said that the development would bring in advantages to Cebu City including taxes, employment of locals, and the stabilization of the energy grid.

Jokin Aboitiz of Aboitiz Powers said the battery reserve would help absorb excess energy and release needed energy to ensure a stable supply of energy to the city depending on a given situation.

He said that although the battery does not provide additional power to close the demand and supply of energy in the Visayas grid, it is a long term solution to maintaining a stable grid.

The Cebu City Council members raised concerns on environmental impact of the project of which CCPEC and Aboitiz Power ensured the project design’s sustainability.

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCCI) also raised the concern on the cost that will be passed on to consumers because of the project and President Feliz Taguiam said there needs to be a deadline when the cost of development can be passed on to consumers.

Members of civic-oriented groups also told the council to ensure that the project will not hinder competition and will keep costs to a minimum.

/bmjo