By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES will seek to start discussions on an ASEAN-wide electricity grid when it chairs the regional bloc’s summit next year.
“As the Philippines prepares for its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026, we wish to highlight the transformative potential of regional integration,” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara said during the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Asia Clean Energy Forum 2025 on Tuesday.
“Through a more integrated regional approach, we see opportunities for foreign investors to look at ASEAN as an investment area, as opposed to just the potential of individual countries,” she added.
Ms. Guevara said that the ASEAN Power Grid initiative can serve as “the backbone of a more resilient and efficient regional energy market.”
“Power flows across borders can reduce supply disruptions and unlock synergies — particularly for renewable energy as we harmonize the geographical differences that dictate availability,” she said.
The ASEAN Power Grid aims to connect the electricity networks of the 10 member countries, enabling cross-border power trading. The target timetable for the program is 2045.
According to the ASEAN Centre for Energy, the ASEAN Power Grid was first proposed in 1997 under ASEAN Vision 2020.
The Philippines will be hosting the ASEAN Summit next year.
Ms. Guevara said the ASEAN Power Grid will be among the agenda items the Philippines will push during the summit.
Winfried F. Wicklein, director general for Southeast Asia at ADB, said that the ASEAN Power Grid will support electricity supply for 680 million people living in the region and maximize the use of renewables.
“A unified power market attracts more investment, creates more jobs, and reduces risks for cross-border energy projects. Also, a unified grid helps optimize energy investments on grid and generation across the region,” Mr. Wicklein said at a briefing.
The initiative allows those countries with abundant renewable energy resources to export clean energy to neighbors as needed, he said.
Keiju Mitsuhashi, energy director at ADB, said an ASEAN Power Grid would require around $16-billion investment for 18 interconnection projects.
“We see this as a very complicated project which requires pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. And then more preparatory investigative studies…So we are looking at how to support or arrange the financial gaps, which is difficult for the private sector (to finance),” Mr. Mitsuhashi said.
He said the bank is looking at how to mobilize private-sector financing for the construction of the interconnections.
Among the 18 priority projects under the ASEAN Power Grid that were identified is the Philippines-Sabah interconnection, a key grid-to-grid link for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.
The planned interconnection will link the Philippines and Malaysia through the Kudat substation in Sabah to Palawan via a 275-kilovolt high-voltage direct current subsea cable.