THE Department of Energy (DoE) is expecting around 6,841 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity this year from power projects due to start operations.
Renewables topped the energy projects set for delivery this year, the DoE said in a report. Other committed capacities are 1,320 MW from gas-fired power plants, 500 MW from coal-fired power plants, and 76 MW from oil-based power plants.
Battery energy storage systems with a combined capacity of 330 MW are also expected to become operational, storing excess power from intermittent generating sources and injecting electricity onto the grid when needed.
Of the new capacity, 5,754 MW will rise on Luzon, 855 MW in the Visayas, and 232 MW in Mindanao.
Among Luzon’s large-scale new projects are the three 440-MW Batangas Combined Cycle Power Plants of Excellent Energy Resources, Inc., the 350-MW Unit 4 coal-fired power plant of Masinloc Power Partners Co., Inc., and the 150-MW Unit 4 coal-fired power plant of Mariveles Power Generation Corp.
The DoE is also looking at the completion and commercial operations of the 218.75-MW Talim Wind Power Project, the 160-MW Balaoi and Caunayan Wind Power Project, and the 128-MW Tanay Wind Power Project.
In the Visayas, power projects scheduled for commercial operations include the 300-MW Kananga-Ormoc Solar Power Project, the 137.48-MW Calatrava Solar Power Project, the 130.05-MW Bacolod Solar Power Project, and the 112-MW San Isidro Solar Power Project Phase 1.
New plants joining the Mindanao grid include the 120-MW General Santos Solar Power Project, the 56-MW Sangali Diesel Power Project, and the 12-MW Mangima Hydroelectric Power Project.
For 2025, the demand growth forecast is 5.4% to 14,769 MW in Luzon, 16% to 3,111 MW in the Visayas, and 8.2% to 2,789 MW in Mindanao, according to the DoE.
In a briefing last week, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said he expects “a much better situation” this year compared with several power projects coming online as well as newly energized transmission lines to deliver their output.
“While it is an election year, it is also not an El Niño year; in fact, it is seen as a La Niña year and therefore the constraints that we saw last year will not be as great as this year,” Mr. Lotilla said.
In 2024, the Philippines declared 16 red alerts and 62 yellow alerts on the grid, signifying the instances when available power capacity was at risk of not meeting demand. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera