Aklan is set to experience an improvement in its electricity supply

Nabas, Aklan- The  Province of Aklan is set to experience an improvement in its electricity supply with the recent approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) of the grid enhancement in the province by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the on-going expansion of the Nabas wind power project by PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI).

On November 20, 2024, the ERC approved the PhP 4.2 Billion Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay 138 kV Transmission Project.  The latter is intended to address overloading issues in the existing Nabas-Caticlan 69kV transmission line, the Caticlan-Boracay submarine cable, and the Manoc-Manoc 69kV load end substation.  When completed in 2025, the project will help bridge power more efficiently in Panay and the Visayas. This follows the additional of power supply from PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI)’s commissioning of its Nabas-2 wind power project in 2Q, 2024.

Aklan Provincial Administrator Atty. Selwyn Ibarreta, declared “The Provincial Government of Aklan welcomes these developments and the positive impact they will bring to businesses and communities in Aklan, especially now that we have just recently attained first-class provincial classification as announced by Gov. Jose Enrique Miraflores during his December 4, 2024 Report to the Province.  Increased access to reliable power is vital for our future growth and development. It will pave the way for additional investments in Aklan that will eventually result in local jobs and additional business taxes, which can fund social services and development projects for the people of Aklan.”

For Nabas’ Municipal Planning and Development Officer Engr. Johann Ken V. Juguan, the upgrade of the NGCP’s facilities in the province is very timely coming right after Nabas municipality was elevated from a fourth-class to a second-class municipality, highlighting the significant increase in revenues that Nabas have recorded in recent years.  Juguan added, “The NGCP grid enhancement combined with the Nabas wind farm expansion by Yuchengco-led PetroWind will provide even greater support to our economic growth agenda and reinforce Nabas and Aklan’s commitment to sustainability and energy security. We have a new health facility coming up and also a new tourism center to open, so we badly need additional power supply, to ensure uninterrupted operations of these new buildings and offices. As announced also by no other than SMC Ramon S. Ang, we expect to see the construction and operation of the New Terminal Building of GPR (Boracay) Airport in Barangay Union, Nabas, Aklan by 2026.”

Nabas is one of the host municipalities of the Nabas Wind Power Project (NWPP), developed and currently operated by PWEI. On April 4, 2024, the first three wind turbines of NWPP Phase 2 successfully exported power to the grid. PWEI’s Senior Manager Jayson Abaniel declared, “Nabas-2 remains the only new power plant connected to the Panay sub-grid since the island wide grid outage of January, 2024. PWEI is thus supportive of the government’s grid enhancement project in Aklan as it will help reduce the risk of generation curtailment of PWEI’s wind farm, resulting in more sustained power generation and the opportunity to continuously supply clean power to the grid.” Abaniel added that PWEI is also committed to completing its Phase 2 with the completion of the commissioning and testing requirements of first three turbines next month and the remaining three within 2025, as committed to the DOE.

Aklan’s local power cooperative is also thrilled with the project, emphasizing that it will impact the power supply in the area. “We expect these two vital projects to improve grid stability in the area and hopefully help reduce power interruptions. We are fully aware that whenever there are power interruptions, local businesses, especially the small ones, are affected. Therefore, we need to support the completion of this NGCP transmission and facility enhancement and PWEI’s wind farm expansion,” says AKELCO Acting General Manager Atty. Ariel B. Gepty.