NGCP battery storage push aims to cushion grid supply strains

Insider Spotlight

• NGCP’s Project Airbag proposes battery energy storage systems to give the transmission grid fast-response support during supply stress.
• The rollout covers 850 MW across six ongoing sites, with another 1,000 MW across 12 sites under assessment.
• The initiative is framed as short-term grid relief, not a substitute for new long-term generation capacity.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines is advancing a transmission-side battery storage program aimed at strengthening grid flexibility, resilience and energy access as the country faces tighter power supply conditions.

In a briefing on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, NGCP vice chair Henry Sy Jr. said the company’s Project Airbag will deploy battery energy storage systems that can store available electricity and release it when the grid is under pressure, including during short-duration shortages, disturbances and evening peak periods.

Why it matters

The initiative is designed to address immediate grid needs while preparing the system for risks tied to a possible 2027 El Niño, which could reduce hydroelectric output in areas dependent on rainfall and reservoir levels.

The NGCP vice chair said the current supply challenge is especially acute in the Visayas, where tight supply conditions and simultaneous generator outages have exposed system vulnerability.

By the numbers

The grid operator identified 850 megawatts (MW) of ongoing Airbag capacity across six sites. These include projects in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Gamu and Santiago in Isabela; Calatrava, Negros Occidental; Dumanjug, Cebu; and Ubay, Bohol.

Another 1,000 MW across 12 sites is under assessment, including proposed locations in Balingueo, Pangasinan; Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; Pagbilao, Quezon; Tuy, Batangas; Nabas, Panay; Victoria, Northern Samar; Cadiz, Negros Occidental; Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte; Placer, Surigao del Norte; San Francisco, Agusan del Sur; Bunawan, Davao City; and General Santos City.

Henry Sy Jr.

The NGCP vice chair said battery storage can provide near-term relief to electricity-starved areas in the Visayas.

The bigger picture

Sy explained that NGCP is positioning the battery rollout as a bridge while longer-term power supply projects are developed, financed, approved, built and commissioned.

The company stressed that batteries do not create electricity and cannot replace dependable generation over prolonged periods. Instead, storage can provide fast-response support, improve use of transmission assets and reduce immediate vulnerability during system stress.

What’s next

NGCP also mapped 253 MW of Department of Energy-identified ancillary service capacity in the Visayas grid across six sites, including projects in Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol.

The broader goal is to build a more flexible transmission system that can accommodate power from a wider range of sources, including large-scale generation, embedded generation, distributed energy resources, net-metered facilities, rooftop solar and other emerging sources.

Over time, the NGCP vice chair said storage could help integrate more domestic and renewable energy, reducing exposure to imported fuel price volatility and improving national energy security.

— Edited by Daxim L. Lucas