Senate probe sought over frequent NGCP red and yellow alerts

CEBU, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Win Gatchalian has filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the recurring red and yellow alert notices issued by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), citing concerns over their impact on grid stability and the resulting brownouts affecting Luzon and Visayas.

Under Proposed Senate Resolution No. 425, Gatchalian raised alarm over what he described as the “frequent and concerning” declaration of grid alerts, warning that tightening power supply conditions could worsen in the coming months, especially with projections that the El Niño phenomenon may intensify from the last quarter of the year until January next year.

“The predications that El Niño may strengthen in the last four months of the year until January next year could further aggravate the country’s power supply situation,” Gatchalian said in filing the measure.

He cited NGCP data from May 12 to May 31, showing that the Visayas grid was under red alert for 22 interval hours and yellow alert for 93 interval hours. During the same period, the Luzon grid was placed under red alert for 27 interval hours and yellow alert for approximately 5.5 interval hours.

He noted that the proposed inquiry would examine the true state of the country’s electricity supply, assess grid reliability, and hold accountable stakeholders who may be responsible for supply shortfalls.

The review, he said will also look into compliance by generation companies with industry standards, possible government interventions, and stricter enforcement of energy laws, including demand-side management under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.

Meanwhile, in an advisory issued on June 5, 2026 at 1:30 P.M., NGCP placed the Visayas grid under an extended yellow alert from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M.

Available capacity was recorded at 2,628 megawatts against a peak demand of 2,447 megawatts, leaving a narrow operating margin. NGCP reported that multiple power plants are either on forced outage or operating at derated capacity, with a total of 911.2 megawatts unavailable to the grid.

According to NGCP, three plants were on forced outage as of June 2026, while additional plants have been offline since 2025, 2024, 2023, and even as far back as 2021. Meanwhile, 12 generating units are operating below normal capacity.

The grid operator said the extended yellow alert was triggered by a 64-megawatt increase in forecasted demand. It added that a yellow alert is issued when the operating margin falls below the required contingency level needed to ensure stable grid operations. — (FREEMAN)