What can the Philippines learn from the Australian energy market?

If the energy transition is a marathon, Australia is already running with steady confidence, while the Philippines is still finding its footing.

- Brix Lelis

SYDNEY – If the energy transition is a marathon, Australia is already running with steady confidence, while the Philippines is still finding its footing.

Both countries want to break free from the grip of coal plants, racing toward a cleaner and more secure energy future. Yet only one appears to have embraced a holistic approach.

Although the Philippines has charted a roadmap toward its clean power goals, Australian energy experts believe this alone won't get the country across the finish line.

"One area that Australia might apply to the Philippines is the planning and enabling of the transmission and energy storage system needed now and into the future," ACEN Australia executive chairman Jose Maria Zabaleta said in an interview here last week.

ACEN Australia is a subsidiary of the Zobel family's ACEN Corp., the fifth-largest power producer in the Philippines.

"There can be no successful energy transition and self-sufficiency without new transmission and energy storage capacity," Zabaleta said.

A battery storage system stores excess electricity generated during low-demand periods and supplies it back to the grid during peak demand, ensuring the stability and reliability of the transmission network.

The technology is expected to reinforce the grid as the country tries to keep up with the influx of variable renewable sources.