{
  "id": 17633934,
  "title": "Democratizing power generation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/democratizing-power-generation",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-01T16:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/11/02/2567159/democratizing-power-generation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "EPIRA has created a private sector dominated power generation market. Unfortunately, this has led to insufficient power plants to meet growing demand. The current power supply market cannot function as a free market due to its inability to meet demand and limited reserve market.\n\nBig Boy Sy proposes Project Airbag, an initiative by NGCP to democratize power generation while adhering to EPIRA restrictions. The project involves deploying battery energy storage systems (BESS) to provide fast-response storage and improve grid flexibility. This approach aims to address supply crisis, reduce power rates, and enhance grid security.\n\nProject Airbag will utilize NGCP's underutilized transmission grid and excess capacity from solar installations. With BESS, excess solar power can be stored during the day and used during peak hours. China's cost-effective solar panel and battery production lowers the expenses associated with this approach.\n\nThe project could potentially allow NGCP to provide ancillary services without the burden of onerous take-or-pay contracts. This could lead to lower power rates for consumers. However, DOE still needs to permit NGCP to use BESS as ancillary services until these contracts are exhausted and the reserve market is depleted.\n\nBig Boy's idea theoretically democratizes power generation by dispersing the burden of supply requirements among more participants and sources. This could provide Energy Secretary Sharon Garin with an immediate solution to the country's energy issues, given her time constraints.",
  "summary": "EPIRA created an oligopoly of power generators by making power generation an exclusively private sector endeavor.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}