NGCP: More baseload plants needed amid demand spike

MANILA, Philippines —  Following the sudden yellow alert last week, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is pushing for more baseload power plants to meet the projected demand during the summer months.

At a press conference yesterday, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza reiterated the need for additional baseload sources to ensure the stability and reliability of the country’s power transmission network.

“From a grid management perspective, it’s really better to have baseload power or non-intermittent, non-variable sources,” Alabanza said.

Unlike variable renewable sources like solar and wind, baseload facilities operate continuously and provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity.

For instance, solar panels only produce electricity when the sun is shining, while wind turbines only operate when there is sufficient wind.

“Although we encourage that because it’s clean energy, solar power, by nature, has a relatively low capacity factor. This is because there’s no solar energy at night and when it’s cloudy, (so) the output drops,” Alabanza said.

Further, the NGCP official also appealed to energy stakeholders to strictly monitor and ensure the availability of supply as the exceptionally high heat indices in recent days caused a surge in demand.

Last March 5, the grid operator placed the Luzon grid on yellow alert for about two hours due to increased demand and the unplanned outages of several power plants.

Fortunately, the situation did not escalate into a red alert following NGCP’s implementation of rapid assessment on grid stability and optimization of remaining available power.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the generation’s contingency requirement, putting the grid at risk with the available contingency reserve less than the required operating margin.

A red alert, on the other hand, is raised when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the grid’s contingency requirement.

Latest NGCP data showed that the highest peak demand for 2025 was recorded on March 6 at 12,467 megawatts, up by five percent from the approved grid operating program forecast demand of 11,870 MW.

As such, Alabanza said the NGCP met with the Department of Energy last Tuesday to revisit their forecasts, suggesting a potential upward revision but did not provide further details.

The transmission operator is set to meet with the generation companies and distribution utilities next week, according to the executive.

“We will lay out all possible solutions and have a contingency plan in place to avoid disturbances in the transmission system and electricity supply,” Alabanza said.

To alleviate possible power shortages, Alabanza has also encouraged the public to consume electricity wisely, efficiently and responsibly.

As the country’s sole transmission provider, the NGCP can only provide an overview of the current supply and demand situation and dispatch any and all available power.

Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the NGCP is prohibited from owning or operating power generation facilities.