Global Business Power supplies reserves to NGCP

By Jordeene B. Lagare – December 07, 2018
from The Manila Times

GLOBAL Business Power Corp. (GBP) has started providing ancillary reserves to National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in a bid to help boost the country’s power supplies.

In a statement on Thursday, GBP said it inked two ancillary procurement agreements (ASPAs) with the NGCP in April.

Speaking at the sidelines of a power conference in Cebu, GBP Head for Commercial and Strategy Philip Dasalla said subsidiaries Cebu Eanergy Development Corp. (CEDC) and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) signed the deals.

Ancillary services involve operations beyond generation and transmission to keep the power grid up and running, including the provision of power when generating units trip or transmission problems occur.

GBP President Jaime Azurin said the agreements were in line with the company’s thrust to become a a total sustainable energy solutions provider.

“When we think about sustainability, we just don’t think about power source, we think of the overall energy ecosystem — including the reliability of our transmission system,” Azurin said.

“A reliable transmission system also supports stable economic growth, as businesses and industries benefit from fewer power supply interruptions. Reliable energy supply can create a conducive environment for investments and job generation,” he added.

GBP noted that NGCP, the country’s power grid operator, had called on power producers to offer available capacity via ASPAs in order to maintain the stability of the grid.
Such deals are subject to Energy Regulatory Commission approval.

GBP operates 11 power generation facilities in Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, and Mindoro. In 2017, the company acquired a 50-percent stake in Alsons Thermal Energy Corp., the holding firm of Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. for baseload coal-fired power plants.