CEBU CITY – In a move seen to substantially ease the power shortage in the region, Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP), the holding company for the Aboitiz Group in power generation and distribution, intends to sell excess power supply next year from its generation units in Luzon to the Visayas.

AP President and Chief Executive Officer Erramon Aboitiz disclosed that the company initially plans to import at least 10-megawatts (MW) of power to Cebu during off-peak hours via existing submarine cables connecting Luzon to Leyte and then to Cebu.

“At present, the Leyte-Cebu submarine cables transmits 360-MW from the geothermal fields in Leyte. If this proposal is granted, it can transmit power only during off-peak hours from Luzon, especially from its Tiwi-Makban geothermal complex,” Aboitiz said.

He added that excess power from the Tiwi geothermal facility will be delivered to the West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban, Cebu where Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu Inc., a bulk carrier builder, is presently completing its P12-billion expansion scheme.

“We are also considering offering power among distribution companies in the province, especially to Veco (Visayan Electric Company),” Aboitiz said during a recent press conference.

Veco is the power distribution arm of AP.

Aboitiz explained that while importing power supply to Balamban is “easier” as it is covered by Philippine Economic Zone Authority rules and regulations, the importation of power supply to Veco and other distribution companies will take some time as implementation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market in the Visayas is yet forthcoming.

According to Juan Antonio Bernad, AP Executive Vice President for Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, importing excess power from Luzon is a pioneering strategy in the country’s power sector, which is why, he said, the challenge lies in how to monitor power transmission from the Luzon grid to the Visayas grid and then into Cebu.

“The two grids are interconnected but they are not integrated,” Bernad said, adding that AP is presently in talks with the Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to come up with a strategy and regulatory affairs.

Once the plan materializes, Aboitiz said AP can start packaging its Cleanergy brand for renewable and clean power, where consumers may decide to buy power from renewable energy sources.

“AP envisions providing complete energy solution for the country, especially in Cebu where the demand for power is huge. We are exploring different opportunities to meet this demand,” said Aboitiz.

Based on reports, the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid has a total dependable capacity of about 976-MW but demand, including the required spinning reserve of 180-MW, reaches nearly 1,100 MW.

Cebu, which requires a total of over 500-MW daily this year, currently has a dependable capacity of less than 300-MW on its own.

With the completion next year of the coal-fired power plant in Toledo City by power consortium Cebu Energy Development Corp., the province will have an additional 246-MW of power.