By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES will seek to start discussions on an ASEAN-wide electricity grid when it chairs the regional bloc’s summit next year.

“As the Philippines prepares for its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026, we wish to highlight the transformative potential of regional integration,” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said during the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia Clean Energy Forum 2025 on Tuesday.

“Through a more integrated regional approach, we see opportunities for foreign investors to look at ASEAN as an investment area, as opposed to just the potential of individual countries,” she added.

Ms. Guevara said that the ASEAN Power Grid initiative can serve as “the backbone of a more resilient and efficient regional energy market.”

“Power flows across borders can reduce supply disruptions and unlock synergies — particularly for renewable energy as we harmonize the geographical differences that dictate availability,” she said.

The ASEAN Power Grid aims to connect the electricity networks of the 10 member countries, enabling cross-border power trading. The target timetable for the program is 2045.

According to the ASEAN Centre for Energy, the ASEAN Power Grid was first proposed in 1997 under ASEAN Vision 2020.

The Philippines will be hosting the ASEAN Summit next year.

Ms. Guevara said the ASEAN Power Grid will be among the agenda items the Philippines will push during the summit.

Winfried F. Wicklein, director general for Southeast Asia at ADB, said that the ASEAN Power Grid will support electricity supply for 680 million people living in the region and maximize the use of renewables.

“A unified power market attracts more investment, creates more jobs, and reduces risks for cross-border energy projects. Also, a unified grid helps optimize energy investments on grid and generation across the region,” Mr. Wicklein said at a briefing.

The initiative allows those countries with abundant renewable energy resources to export clean energy to neighbors as needed, he said.

Keiju Mitsuhashi, energy director at ADB, said an ASEAN Power Grid would require around $16-billion investment for 18 interconnection projects.

“We see this as a very complicated project which requires pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. And then more preparatory investigative studies…So we are looking at how to support or arrange the financial gaps, which is difficult for the private sector (to finance),” Mr. Mitsuhashi said.

He said the bank is looking at how to mobilize private-sector financing for the construction of the interconnections.

Among the 18 priority projects under the ASEAN Power Grid that were identified is the Philippines-Sabah interconnection, a key grid-to-grid link for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.

The planned interconnection will link the Philippines and Malaysia through the Kudat substation in Sabah to Palawan via a 275-kilovolt high-voltage direct current subsea cable.

TRANSMISSION RATES will decline on this month’s electricity bills after the reduction in ancillary service (AS) and transmission wheeling rates, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

“Both the transmission (wheeling) and AS rate have decreased,” Julius Ryan D. Datingaling, head of regulatory management at NGCP, said at a briefing on Wednesday.

The overall rate for September, which will appear in October electricity bills, decreased 1.23% month on month to P1.3998 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

AS charges, or power reserves deployed by grid operators to support the transmission of power and to maintain reliable operations, declined 1.70% month on month to P0.6546 per kWh.

Transmission wheeling rates fell 0.84% month on month to P0.5920 per kWh in September. These reflect the cost of delivering electricity from power generators to the distribution system.

Rates dropped 3.02% in Luzon, 6.62% in the Visayas, and 4.56% in Mindanao.

“NGCP does not earn from AS rates, as these are remitted directly to generating companies, and it does not benefit from any movement in their prices,” the company said.

Separately, NGCP Spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza said the company’s transmission facilities are prepared in case of a major earthquake in Metro Manila.

“While we’re still studying the routes and locations where the transmission lines and facilities will be built, we have many considerations — topography, flooding, and also fault lines,” Ms. Alabanza said.

Parts of Metro Manila are on the West Valley Fault, which is projected to generate a quake of up to magnitude 7.2 if the fault moves.

“We try to avoid those areas as much as possible so that in case a disaster happens, the impact can be mitigated, since we won’t be placing them directly over areas with fault lines,” Ms. Alabanza said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

THE Department of Energy (DoE) terminated a service contract held by a power subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) due to failure to make progress on a geothermal power project in Oriental Mindoro.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, NAC said that the DoE issued the final and irrevocable termination of the geothermal renewable energy service contract held by Mindoro Geothermal Power Corp. (MGPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI).

The DoE revoked the contract covering the Montelago Geothermal Power Project, citing MGPC’s failure to comply with its commitments as indicated in the project’s approved five-year work program.

In 2014, MGPC acquired the exclusive rights to explore, develop and exploit geothermal resources at a field in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, according to NAC’s 2024 annual report.

The company received approval from the DoE in 2019 to develop a 10-megawatt project to supply electricity to the Mindoro Island grid.

Last year, MGPC received a termination letter from the DoE covering the geothermal power project. The company requested reconsideration and submitted further documents, which the DoE accepted, laying down a five-year work program.

As a result of the re-evaluation, the company found that the well may not be economically viable due to low mass flow and limited power generation potential.

The group then booked provisions for impairment losses on the assets related to the geothermal exploration work.

On top of the contract’s termination, the company will also have to settle a financial obligation of $120,000 for training assistance.

“The termination of the service contract and the payment by MGPC of the financial obligation will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial situation,” NAC said.

EPI, the renewable energy subsidiary of NAC, aims to build 1 gigawatt worth of renewable energy capacity by 2028. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera