Cebu faces the worst power supply situation in the Visayas, with local demand hitting 1,300 megawatts while available generation reaches only 900 megawatts, forcing reliance on power imported from Mindanao via a submarine cable system that began commercial operations in January 2024.
Power supplies across the Visayas island grid remain severely constrained as major thermal generating units undergo restoration work and officials grapple with tightening reserve margins. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines recently placed the regional grid under a red alert status, following a series of yellow alerts triggered by generator shutdowns and surging demand that local infrastructure struggles to match.
Tensions in Cebu and Panay
Local generation capacity in Cebu has failed to keep pace with soaring consumption, creating a persistent daily deficit that requires substantial energy imports. The island must draw more than 400 megawatts daily from Mindanao to bridge the gap through the NGCP’s Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project, which utilizes a submarine high-voltage direct-current cable spanning about 184 circuit kilometers with a 450-megawatt transfer capacity.
Neil Modena, NGCP assistant vice president and head of system operations for Visayas, pointed out that without that interconnector, the brownouts in Cebu would have been severe because no new power plant had been built in Cebu after 2019. That year marked the completion of the Therma Visayas Energy Project, a 340-megawatt coal plant in Toledo City built across two units, while a third unit remains under construction.
A similar vulnerability hangs over Panay. Modena explained that if the island lost a single baseload plant like the Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3 in La Paz, Iloilo City, local consumers would face a 75-megawatt shortage and require power imports from Negros.
“This means you cannot sustain an island if you lose one baseload plant.”
Neil Modena, NGCP assistant vice president and head of system operations for Visayas
Plant Restoration Delays and Catch-Up Realities
Grid stability took another hit as at least two power plants in the Visayas underwent restoration. Department of Energy Secretary Sharon Garin detailed the ongoing restoration work at Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1 in Toledo City and PEDC Unit 3 in Iloilo City during a recent press briefing.
TVI Unit 1 had previously been repaired and brought back online before suffering a fresh malfunction. Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan noted that the unit is suspected of experiencing heating issues that necessitated an unplanned shutdown for a cold reboot to isolate the exact cause.
Meanwhile, PEDC Unit 3 remains under restoration while technicians source replacement parts from other countries, with its return not anticipated until the end of October. Garin expressed deep frustration over the tight margins and aging fleet.
“We did not construct [additional capacity] five years ago, so we’re catching up with temporary band-aid solutions.”
Sharon Garin, Department of Energy Secretary
Garin added that authorities are stuck relying on strained facilities because power supplies are too tight to permit shutdowns for punishment, noting that officials hope to manage the deficit over the next two years while establishing stronger generation reserves.
Manual Load Dropping Across Visayas Sub-Grids
When available generation falls short of consumer demand, the grid operator implements manual load dropping, or rotational power disconnections. Under Grid Code rules, these load reductions are distributed proportionally based on each sub-grid’s share of total demand rather than applied evenly across the islands.
| Visayas Sub-Grid | Load Dropping Share |
|---|---|
| Cebu | 42 percent |
| Panay | 21 percent |
| Negros | 18 percent |
| Leyte | 13 percent |
| Bohol | 8 percent |
Data covering the period from May to September illustrates this proportional allocation with Cebu accounting for 42 percent of the MLD allocation in the Visayas, reflecting its heavy consumption load relative to neighboring areas.
Regulatory Safeguards and Fast-Track Storage Plans
To ease the pressure on strained transmission networks, energy regulators are moving to fast-track alternative capacity. Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino Juan stated that regulatory approvals for the commissioning of battery energy storage systems will be issued immediately upon application.
These storage assets are designed to absorb excess generation during daylight hours and discharge power during the early evening peak when yellow and red alerts typically strike. While the NGCP and Department of Energy are assessing these facilities with deployment eyed by December or early 2027, officials emphasize that storage functions strictly as a short-term solution rather than a replacement for base generation plants.
On the pricing front, authorities maintain a secondary price cap on wholesale electricity spot market transactions in the Visayas, limiting cumulative spot charges that previously surpassed PHP12.413 per kilowatt-hour down to a ceiling of PHP7.423 per kilowatt-hour. Concurrently, the Department of Energy has directed its Legal Services Bureau to ask the Philippine Competition Commission and the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. to investigate potential market abuse, with a PEMC market surveillance report due within 60 days.