Visayas power supply remains “tight” — DOE

CEBU, Philippines — The power supply in the Visayas remains tight as the sub-grid has been under continuous yellow and red alert conditions since May 12, 2026, due to multiple power plant outages affecting system reliability.

In the latest report from Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary for Energy Policy and Power Industry Management Mario Marasigan, he said that several generating facilities remain offline, including two units of Giga Visayas Incorporated with a combined capacity of 169 megawatts and Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) Unit 3 with a capacity of 150 megawatts.

The restoration of PEDC Unit 3 is targeted by July 3.

He noted that while there has been some improvement in system conditions, such as fewer hours under yellow alert and a reduction in the system’s minimum load demand, the grid remains “under pressure due” to ongoing outages.

Marasigan also confirmed that Cebu-based Kepco-Salcon Power Corporation (KSPC) Unit 2 recently went on a forced outage again at around 8:43 a.m. on Monday due to a monitoring-related issue.

He added that the plant operator is implementing corrective measures, with initial estimates placing possible restoration by June 19, 2026.

Currently, Marasigan assured that the DOE continues to closely coordinate with generation companies to stabilize the Visayas grid while restoration activities are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said in its June 16, 8 a.m. advisory that the Visayas Grid was under a yellow alert from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Available capacity stood at 2,587 megawatts, while peak demand reached 2,384 megawatts, leaving a narrow operating margin.

In total, 23 generating units are either on forced outage or operating at reduced capacity, resulting in about 947.8 megawatts being unavailable to the grid.

The grid operator said the yellow alert was triggered by the unavailability of major Visayas baseload plants, combined with high demand forecasts.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement, signaling tight supply conditions but not yet a power outage scenario. — (FREEMAN)