Photo 1. Group photo of APSO 2024 Workshop participants 

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), in cooperation with the USAID Smart Power Program (SPP), Global-Power System Transformation (G-PST), HAPUA Working Group 5, and the Philippines’ Coalition of Utilities successfully delivered the 9th ASEAN Power Systems Operators (APSO) Workshop under the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) initiative from 27 to 29 August 2024. The two-day in-person workshops were hosted by the Philippines’ Coalition of Utilities, with the Department of Energy (DOE) designating the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) as the lead agency, in partnership with the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), and Manila Electric Company (Meralco). Held in Metro Manila, Philippines, the annual event of APSO workshop brought together over 180 workshop participants from the Power System Operators from ten (10) ASEAN Member States (AMS) to explore strategies for integrating renewable energy resources, application of distributed energy resources and establishing standardised grid-to-grid operations.  The objective of the workshop was to fulfil the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Corporation (APAEC) Program Area No. 1: ASEAN Power Grid, particularly under Action Plan 3.1, which aims to develop standardised grid codes for transmission interconnections. 

Photo 2. (left-right) Dir. Irma C. Exconde, Director of EPIMB of DOE, Barbara O’Neil, Grid Planning and Analysis Centre at NREL, Dr Titiporn Sangpetch of EGAT, Kae Jiuan Joanne Chua of DNV, Dinna O. Dizon of TransCo and Dr Ma Cynthia Y. Manrique of NGCP 

From Barbara O’Neill of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to Dr Titiporn Sangpetch of the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the workshop upholds gender equality by having female experts on most of the speaking sessions. This was a commitment showcased by ACE and USAID SPP related to the gender equality issues in every opportunity of collaborations with Stakeholders in ASEAN.  

Day 1, 27 August 2024: Grid Integration of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) and Distributed Energy Resources 

The first day of workshop, commenced with a keynote speech from Dir. Irma C. Exconde, Director of the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) of the Department of Energy (DOE), and remarks from Engr. Fortunato C. Leynes, President of the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), Dr. Fernando Martin Y. Roxas of NPC, and Engr. Ronnie L. Aperocho, COO of Meralco. These figures welcomed all the esteemed participants and highlighted the growing need for VRE integration and regional collaboration to ensure energy security. Beni Suryadi, Acting Executive Director of ACE, concluded the opening remark by urging AMS to unite efforts in standardising grid operations for achieving the region’s long-term energy resilience. 

Photo 3. Opening Remarks by Beni Suryadi, Acting Executive Director of ACE 

The keynote presentation by Barbara O’Neil, from the Grid Planning and Analysis Centre at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and G-PST Secretariat, offered insights into global best practices for integrating VRE into grid operations. Leon Roose, Chief Technologist at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), then showcased the successful story in integrating 100% VRE into the grid, sharing insights from Hawaii’s experience. 

In the afternoon session, panel discussion moderated by Grayson Heffner, Director, Utility Modernization and Power Trade at USAID SPP, explored the development of a VRE integration toolkit. The panellists included Kiran Sabbineni (USAID LES), Marc Matsuura (HNEI), Dr John Ward (CSIRO), Clark N. Agustin, (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines), and Kawin Tantaveevong (EGAT) underpins the options of toolkits that AMS could utilize in integrating VRE into grid system such as advanced grid modelling, VRE production forecasting, sub-hourly dispatch, flexibility resources, and SCADA EMS integration. 

Photo 4. Grayson Heffner, Director, Utility Modernization and Power Trade at USAID SPP, moderated a panel discussion on “VRE Grid Integration Tool Kit”

The session transitioned into the Community of Practice (CoP) event under ACE and G-PST collaborations for ASEAN Power System Operators. Dr John Ward, Research Director of Energy Systems at CSIRO and a G-PST expert, started the session with presentation on leveraging aggregated Distributed Energy Resources (DER) for system flexibility at both local and bulk power levels. Following this, the moderated CoP session led by Akbar Dwi Wahyono, Research Analyst on Power at ACE delved into the benefits and challenges of deploying aggregated DER for APSO member countries. Panellists Nguyen Son Tung (NLDC), Dr John Ward (CSIRO), Leon Roose (HNEI), Dr Dhany Harmeidy (PLN), and Dr Peerapat Vithayasrichareon (DNV) shared insights on the challenges and opportunities of DER deployment in the region. During the session, Marcel Nicky Arianto, Associate Research Analyst on Power at ACE posed an intervention on the current AMS initiatives in developing regulations to support the deployment of inverter-based resources (IBRs). 

Photo 5. Community of Practice (CoP) session, moderated by Akbar Dwi Wahyono, Research Analyst on Power at ACE 

Day 2, 28 August 2024: Standardizing Grid-to-Grid Operations for Green Power Trade  

The second day commenced with presentations from Dr Peerapat Vithayasrichareon, Principal Consultant at DNV, presented the role of regional grid harmonization in ASEAN’s decarbonisation strategy, John Garvey from Deloitte ENR presented on JUMPP’s ITC/ATC Program and its impact on synchronized grid operations; and Dr Titiporn Sangpetch from EGAT shared insights on grid-to-grid operational experiences, lessons learned, and future opportunities. 

The session then moved to a panel discussion on developing a grid-to-grid operations toolkits with Barbara O’Neill serving as the moderator. Panellists included Kiran Sabbineni (USAID LES), Kae Jiuan Joanne Chua (DNV), Dr Leng Sovannarith (EdC), and Dr Titiporn Sangpetch (EGAT). Then, representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam shared updates on their progress towards grid standardisation. The session then moved on breakout group discussion where System Operators in ASEAN Member States were divided into smaller group addressing the preferable tool kits for integrating VRE, implementing DER, and grid-to-grid standardization based on challenges that the system operators encountered.   

Photo 6. Closing remarks by Tung Phuong, Senior Program Officer of USAID SPP at ACE. 

Tung Phuong, Senior Program Officer of USAID SPP at ACE delivered his closing remarks emphasising the need for technical assistance to ensure that grid systems across the region are prepared for the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources. Moving forward, the tool kits for VRE grid integration, Distributed Energy Resource and Grid-to-Grid Standardisation which were presented at the workshop can be important references for ASEAN Power System Operators community in future-proofing the grid to enable and support higher VRE integration and clean power exchanges between the AMS.