THE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas and Mindanao grids under red and yellow alerts on Friday as widespread power plant outages severely restricted power generation across both regions.
In the Visayas, a red alert was raised between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, bracketed by yellow alerts from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
NGCP reported that 31 plants suffered forced outages while 14 others operated at derated capacities, taking 1,030.1 megawatts (MW) offline. Peak demand was projected at 2,002 MW against a tight available supply of 2,320 MW.
Mindanao was under a yellow alert from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM due to 29 forced plant outages and seven derated units, stripping 859.8 MW from the grid.
Peak demand there was expected to hit 2,545 MW against 2,652 MW in available capacity.
Red alerts signal that supply cannot meet consumer demand and grid requirements, while yellow alerts indicate insufficient operating reserves.
The persistent supply shortfalls prompted Cebu 3rd District Representative Karen Hope F. Garcia to file House Resolution 1439, calling for an urgent congressional inquiry into the recurring outages and their financial impact on consumers.
Garcia pointed to NGCP data revealing the Visayas grid has already logged at least 94 yellow alerts and 31 red alerts.
The widespread interruptions have sparked fears of sharp rate hikes, with reports warning that Cebu electricity tariffs could surge from around ₱11 per kilowatt-hour to nearly ₱19.
Garcia’s resolution directs the House Committee on Energy to summon officials from the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), NGCP, and major power companies.
The proposed probe aims to review unit-by-unit outage histories to verify if breakdowns stem from genuine mechanical failures, ensure system failure costs are not unfairly passed onto consumers, and check whether non-compliant plant operators face appropriate penalties or show-cause orders.
