AboitizPower to construct 30-MW BESS project in Mactan Economic Zone

The East Asia Utilities Corporation (EAUC) facility at the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. This site is set to host a hybrid Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), poised to help deliver more stable power to the Visayas grid.

Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), through its Therma Power, Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiary East Asia Utilities Corporation (EAUC), is set to break ground for its 30-megawatt (MW) hybrid Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project within the Mactan Economic Zone, marking a strategic move to support grid stability in the fast-growing Visayas region.

Targeted for commissioning by the first half of 2026, the project will be one of the first large-scale energy storage systems in Central Visayas. It is expected to help improve the reliability of the power supply amid rising demand from industries, businesses, and new locators within the economic zone.

The hybrid BESS serves as an ancillary service or back-up power, storing surplus electricity to be released to the power grid when demand needs to be supplemented, helping maintain grid quality and reliability. The Energy Regulatory Commission emphasized that ancillary services are critical to the Philippine energy transition, especially as the grid integrates more variable renewable energy capacities.

“This project will allow us to respond to imbalances in real-time, helping the grid absorb fluctuations and minimize disruptions,” explained AboitizPower Transition Business Group Chief Operating Officer for Operated Assets Aldo Ramos. 

“EAUC has consistently proven its ability to provide crucial ancillary reserves to the Luzon and Visayas grid when needed. The integration of BESS with our existing facility will materially enhance this capability, enabling faster and more efficient responses,” he added.

Further aligned with the goal to help strengthen investment and support the country’s economic goals, the EAUC hybrid BESS was one of the projects approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in January 2025. 

“Investors heavily consider the reliability of power supply, and so we work to efficiently facilitate these innovative energy initiatives to support residing businesses and encourage more investments in the Mactan Economic Zone,” said PEZA Director General Tereso Panga. “The EAUC hybrid BESS will help in the stability of the power supply, and more so as the share of variable renewable energy increases in our power mix.” 

Designed for high availability, hybrid BESS are capable of operating through maintenance cycles to maintain consistent grid support. Hybrid battery facilities offer rapid ramp-up and response times, enabling them to address grid imbalances within seconds. With fewer moving parts and no fuel dependency, these systems also benefit from significantly lower operations and maintenance requirements compared to conventional thermal generation.

In the Visayas, coal-fired power plants such as AboitizPower’s Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI) remain part of the region’s dispatchable generation capacity, which helps maintain grid stability alongside increasing energy integration.

The Department of Energy projects that the share of variable renewable energy such as solar and wind capacities will rise to 16–28% in the Philippines by 2031. In this context, energy storage will be critical for managing fluctuations and enabling even higher levels of variable renewable energy integration.

As the Visayas continues to grow its economy, EAUC’s upcoming hybrid battery project marks a meaningful step toward a more flexible and stable grid, reflecting AboitizPower’s broader push to modernize the country’s power infrastructure with smarter, more responsive energy solutions.

“Following BESS projects in Maco and Nasipit, AboitizPower continues to invest in a flexible energy portfolio — aligned with the goal of a balanced renewable and thermal energy mix — to support the country’s evolving power needs,” Ramos said.