Visayas Mindanao emerges as hotspots for BESS amid grid pressures

CEBU, Philippines — The Visayas and Mindanao are emerging as key destinations for battery energy storage system (BESS) investments as recurring grid pressures and transmission bottlenecks drive efforts to strengthen power reliability in some of the Philippines’ fastest-growing economic regions.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it has received 17 applications for battery energy storage system projects across the Visayas and Mindanao, reflecting rising investor interest in technologies designed to stabilize electricity supply and support the region’s expanding renewable energy sector.

“Today’s challenge is no longer simply supply adequacy, but system flexibility,” ERC Executive Director Nancy Aurora Q. Fajardo said during Schneider Electric Philippines’ Innovation Day 2026 forum in Cebu on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Recent yellow and red alerts in the Visayas have highlighted vulnerabilities in the power system despite generally adequate generation capacity, exposing the growing need for reserve capacity, ancillary services, transmission upgrades and energy storage facilities, she said.

The shift comes as industrial activity accelerates across the two regions, with new factories, data centers, logistics hubs, cold-storage facilities and digital infrastructure increasing demand for stable electricity supplies.

Fajardo said battery storage is becoming a critical component of grid operations, allowing excess renewable energy to be stored and dispatched during peak demand periods or supply disruptions.

The growing pipeline of projects reflects confidence that the Visayas and Mindanao will play a larger role in the country’s energy transition, particularly as solar and wind developments expand outside Luzon.

The ERC is supporting the deployment of storage facilities alongside renewable energy projects, following a Department of Energy directive requiring new variable renewable energy projects with capacities of at least 10 megawatts to integrate battery storage equivalent to 20 percent of installed capacity.

The regulator is also revising the Philippine Grid Code to accommodate inverter-based technologies, including solar, wind and battery storage systems, which are increasingly being relied upon for frequency regulation, voltage stability and other grid-support services.

Fajardo said the need for storage investments has become more urgent as transmission constraints continue to limit the efficient movement of electricity between regions.

“Even sufficient generation may not be fully delivered or utilized because the grid may not yet have the capacity to carry it,” she said.

To address the issue, the ERC recently approved additional revenues for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to fund grid modernization projects and transmission upgrades.

The commission has also opened the door for private entities other than NGCP to finance and construct selected transmission facilities, a move aimed at accelerating critical infrastructure projects and reducing delays.

Mindanao, in particular, is attracting attention from investors as renewable energy development gains momentum.

Earlier this year, Filinvest Development Corp. inaugurated its first utility-scale solar facility in Misamis Oriental, a 20.74-megawatt project expected to generate about 30.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

“These investments show how renewable energy can strengthen energy security, support sustainability and enhance regional competitiveness,” Fajardo said. “More importantly, they signal growing investor confidence in Mindanao’s future as a destination for industry and innovation.”

She added that as Visayas and Mindanao evolve into major centers for manufacturing, technology and renewable energy development, strengthening grid resilience through battery storage, transmission expansion and microgrid investments will be essential to sustaining economic growth and attracting long-term capital.