Power Watch Negros secretary-general Wennie Sancho commended the holding of the Power Summit thru the effort of the Provincial Government, which was a significant move to create a “road map” for the transition period to renewable energy sources (RES) from 2025 to 2030.
However, Power Watch Negros questioned the “state of readiness” of the transmission grid to integrate the coming waves of renewable energy, Sancho said in a press statement.
“To ramp up the renewable electricity base, we must build more high voltage lines to make the future grid more resilient in tackling the intermittency issue with renewables. There are questions raised by some observers. What if the sun isn’t shining? What if the wind isn’t blowing in one area? Power grids are the foundations of the energy system, playing a key role in the energy transition by enabling the use of RES. To meet the growing demand for RES, it must be integrated into the power grids, but there are hurdles to overcome,” he said.
Sancho claimed the transition to RES coupled with economic growth will cause electricity demand to soar, increasing by 40 percent from 2024 to 2030 and doubling by 2050. According to experts in the power industry, distribution utilities will confront significant challenges when integrating RES into electrical grids. These are also the same challenges facing the transition period in the Negros Island. First, the DU’s will face network inadequacy. With the lack of physical capacity to accommodate supply and demand in locations with the best resources.
“Our grids were not originally set up for such a fast-paced energy system, their tools and processes were developed in a slower, less volatile world. The growing demand for RES requires grid integration. But there is difficulty in optimizing grid capacity because it was currently designed for centralized mainly fossil fuel generation and inefficient grid planning leading to less new RES capacity being built than needed,” he said.
Second, operators have to contend with network instability. Increased penetration of intermittent power sources such as solar and wind have caused a higher utility frequency and voltage volatility. They are also dealing with the curtailment of distribution connected plants and potential imbalances penalties. As a result, there is a need for complex balancing services and restructuring of transmission and distribution system operator coordination processes, Sancho said.
He strongly suggests that this vital oversight should be included in the agenda of the next Power Summit, if any, as a follow through activity. It is a fact that our transmission grid was built on transmission equipment that average 20 to 30 years of age or more and much of which is meeting or has passed its useful and reliable end of life.
Upgrading the transmission grid has proven to be difficult, if not impossible due to the multi-layer regulatory regime. This is the challenge facing RES integration, Sancho added.*
