Group supports move to revert transmission planning to government

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Energy Rights Advocates (CERA) has thrown its support behind a proposal in Congress to return national grid transmission planning to the government, which would take the function away from the privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

During the joint hearing of the House committees on Energy and Visayas Concerns on September 21, lawmakers highlighted the need to strengthen the national grid and fast-track transmission projects to improve inter-island connectivity.

Under the proposal, transmission planning would be returned to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), while NGCP’s mandate would be limited to project development and construction.

CERA convenor Nathaniel Chua, in a statement, said the recent red and yellow alerts in the Visayas, triggered by the unscheduled shutdown of several power plants, were aggravated by an aging and limited transmission system.

“It is becoming clear that the recent red and yellow alerts in the Visayas, while caused by the unscheduled shutdown of several power plants, were exacerbated by an old, limited, and inefficient transmission system,” Chua said.

He cited records presented during the congressional hearing showing a significant imbalance in available capacity between the major grids.

He said the Luzon grid had an excess capacity of about 5,000 megawatts while the Visayas and Mindanao grids experienced shortages that resulted in red and yellow alerts.

“That massive 5,000 MW capacity in Luzon could have helped alleviate the situation in the Visayas and Mindanao, but our transmission infrastructure simply could not deliver it,” Chua said.

He said returning transmission planning to the DOE and TransCo would allow grid expansion to be based on national requirements and long-term planning.

“Leaving the transmission planning to a private entity has clearly failed the consumers. Returning the planning and strategic foresight to the DOE and TransCo ensures that our grid expansion aligns with national interest and public welfare, rather than corporate pacing,” he added.

Chua said the issue was particularly critical in the Visayas, where major load centers are spread across several islands.

“For a company with tens of billions in pesos in profit, yet failing to reliably connect the biggest load centers in the Visayas is a failure of NGCP’s mandate. They need to step up, and the government already needs to step in,” he said.

As an immediate measure to address grid reliability concerns, CERA is also pushing for the deployment of additional power barges, particularly in Panay and Negros.

Chua said the mobile power facilities could serve as temporary measures to stabilize local grids while long-term transmission projects are being implemented.

CERA also called for a full and independent investigation into the simultaneous unscheduled shutdowns of several power plants that triggered the red and yellow alerts discussed during the congressional inquiry.

“We need transparency and accountability,” Chua said.

“Why did these power plants shut down simultaneously? Is this a competence issue among the operators, a fundamental design issue in our power infrastructure, or is this sheer bad luck being passed on to us consumers? The public deserves answers, and they deserve reliable electricity,” Chua added.

CERA said it would continue to monitor developments in Congress following the September 21 hearing and advocate for policies aimed at protecting energy consumers in Cebu and the wider Visayas region. — (FREEMAN)