NGCP told: Restore power lines faster

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has directed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), power generation companies, and other industry operators to expedite the restoration of affected transmission lines and generating units.

This comes as the Visayas Grid’s red alert was lifted early yesterday afternoon, although the continuing forced outages of power plants remain the central problem.

The two-day declaration of red and yellow alerts over the Visayas grid began on July 8.

In an official statement, Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin ordered all concerned stakeholders to accelerate the restoration of damaged facilities and the energization of affected power plants to help stabilize the electricity supply across the Visayas.

The DOE, through its Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB), said it is coordinating closely with industry stakeholders while conducting an investigation into the circumstances that led to the grid alerts.

Based on initial reports, the Iloilo–Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) 138-kilovolt Line 3 tripped, resulting in the isolation and forced outage of PEDC Unit 3. The incident significantly reduced the available operating reserves of the Visayas grid.

The department also reported that the Lapu-Lapu–Basak 69-kilovolt transmission line tripped, further affecting the reliability of the transmission network.

Meanwhile, the DOE said it is also validating reports on the outage of Palm Concepcion Power Corporation in Panay, which may have also contributed to the reduced power supply in the region.

The DOE said it will continue to coordinate with NGCP and other industry participants to facilitate the immediate restoration of affected facilities and maintain the stability of the Visayas power grid.

The Visayas power grid was placed under both red and yellow alert status on Thursday, July 9, as the available power supply was expected to fall short of consumer demand amid multiple power plant outages and high electricity demand.

NGCP said the Visayas grid’s available capacity was projected at 2,561 megawatts (MW), while peak demand was expected to reach 2,568 MW, resulting in a power supply deficit during the evening peak hours.

NGCP also confirmed that ten generating units were still on forced outage as of July 2026, while 14 others were running at reduced capacity, stripping the system of nearly 960 megawatts of supply.

A forced outage, as defined by the Energy Regulatory Commission, is an unplanned shutdown of a generating unit due to mechanical breakdowns, safety concerns, or other unforeseen events.

Unlike scheduled maintenance outages, forced outages occur suddenly and can last for weeks or months, depending on the severity of the problem.

Prolonged outages beyond allowable limits raise reliability concerns and expose the grid to repeated alerts.

Therma Visayas Inc. Units 1 and 2, located in Barangay Bato, Toledo City, are among the largest coal-fired facilities in the region and remain unavailable.

Although NGCP lifted the red alert at 12:45 p.m. when demand fell to 2,354 MW against an available capacity of 2,532 MW, the grid was expected to remain under yellow alert until 10:00 p.m. last night. —/IHM (FREEMAN)