Visayas grid remains under extended yellow alert
CEBU, Philippines — The Visayas grid remained under extended Yellow Alert on Monday, May 25, from 4:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., due to limited available generating capacity, multiple power plant outages, and high system demand.
Based on the 6:30 P.M. update the previous day, available capacity stood at 2,656 megawatts (MW), while peak demand reached 2,460 MW, leaving a thin operating margin for the region’s power system.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that a total of 12 generating plants have been on forced outage since May 2026, including long-term outages involving one plant since March 2026, three since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023, and one since 2021.
In addition, NGCP said that 13 plants are operating on derated capacity, meaning their output has been reduced. This brings the total unavailable capacity to 874.1 MW.
Among the factors contributing to the supply shortage are the continued forced outages of several major coal-fired plants in the Visayas, including TVI Unit 1 (since May 12, 2026), TVI Unit 2 (since March 24, 2026), and PEDC Unit 3 (since May 6, 2026). High demand forecasts have also added pressure on the grid.
NGCP explained that a Yellow Alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirements, meaning the system may struggle to accommodate sudden increases in demand or unexpected generation losses.
Despite the situation in the Visayas, the Luzon and Mindanao grids are expected to operate normally during the same period. — (FREEMAN)
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