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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Battery energy storage system project under way in Cebu

Battery energy storage system project under way in Cebu

Published Jul 2, 2026 09:32 pm
OFFICIALS of AboitizPower along with Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan, and Naga City, Cebu Mayor Valdemar Chiong lead the groundbreaking ceremony of a battery energy storage system project in Naga City. (Calvin D. Cordova)
OFFICIALS of AboitizPower along with Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan, and Naga City, Cebu Mayor Valdemar Chiong lead the groundbreaking ceremony of a battery energy storage system project in Naga City. (Calvin D. Cordova)
CEBU CITY – As Visayas continues to grapple with persistent grid alerts, a major project in the City of Naga, Cebu that is seen to boost power supply was finally under way on Wednesday, July 1.
The Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) officially held the groundbreaking of the Naga Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project, an investment that aims to help strengthen grid reliability and support the growing energy needs of the Visayas.
“The Naga BESS project is a stand-alone battery energy storage system with a capacity of 60 megawatt that can be pushed to 120,” said Rhea Navarro, regional chief operating officer for the Visayas of the AboitizPower Transition Business Group.
A BESS is a type of energy storage that uses a set of batteries to store surplus electricity which is released when needed to augment supply or improve the quality of the electricity in the power system.
AboitizPower has a similar project at the East Asia Utilities Corp. (EAUC) complex in Mactan. The facility is already mechanically complete but still awaiting regulatory clearances before going online.
The Department of Energy (DOE) welcomed the two projects.
“These two projects are a big help for the government, especially for the Visayas. Visayas is unique because islands are interconnected and all major islands need power supply,” said DOE Undersecretary Mario Marasigan.
Marasigan said BESS can certainly enhance power supply in the region.
“Although we have suppliers of electricity through those big conventional power plants, the growing demand causes us to need sufficient support that we call reserve which when needed must be used right away. At present, we need this BESS. We badly need this in the Visayas,” Marasigan said.
The project marks the transformation of the Naga Power Plant Complex from thermal power generation to energy storage. In response to the Visayas' evolving energy ecosystem, the site's legacy coal and diesel-fired units have been decommissioned and demolished, demonstrating AboitiPower's strategy of growing and diversifying its asset portfolio in support of the Philippines' energy transition.
Built by the National Power Corp. in the 1980s, the Naga Power Plant Complex was acquired by AboitizPower in 2018 through the government's privatization program.
"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," said Celso C. Caballero III, president of AboitizPower Transition Business Group.
Caballero said the Naga BESS project is part of AboitizPower's broader strategy of a balanced energy mix portfolio in support of the Philippine Energy Plan.

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