DOE pushes solar batteries, power barges to curb Visayas outages

BACOLOD CITY — The Department of Energy is pushing for immediate interventions to address the continuing power situation in the Visayas, including solar battery energy storage systems and power barges as short-term measures to prevent yellow and red alerts.

House Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez hosted a joint congressional hearing on the Visayas power crisis at L’Fisher Hotel on Saturday.

The hearing sought to assess gaps in the power supply, address recurring outages, and examine their effects on households and businesses.

In a press briefing after the hearing, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin called for the use of solar batteries and power barges as immediate solutions, while the DOE prepares longer-term ones.

The DOE estimates that the longer-term solution could be delivered by the end of 2028 at the earliest.

Garin also welcomed the opportunity for Congress to hear and discuss the government’s plans, and stressed the need for stakeholders to work together to address the power situation.

“Let’s fix the Visayas as soon as possible,” Garin said.

She said emergency power measures could accelerate the delivery of additional capacity while longer-term generation, transmission, and distribution projects are under development.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has placed the Visayas grid under red or yellow alert repeatedly since May 2026, citing forced plant outages and limited power imports from neighboring grids.

A yellow alert means the grid’s operating margin is insufficient to meet its contingency requirement. A red alert means supply is insufficient to meet demand and the grid’s regulating requirement, according to the grid operator.

In August, Garin said DOE simulations showed that battery storage would eliminate red alerts and significantly reduce yellow alerts in the Visayas, BusinessMirror reported.

Benitez filed a resolution directing the committee to conduct a probe in aid of legislation on the power outages, seek accountability, and ensure a stable, adequate, and reliable power supply for the Visayas.

He said the immediate objective of the hearing was to discuss how to prevent the recurrence of yellow and red alerts in the Visayas.

Benitez said the DOE already has a plan involving solar battery storage and power barges, with portions expected to be delivered within the year and additional capacity targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

“There is already a plan and solution to remove the red and yellow alerts,” Benitez said, adding that stakeholders had discussed the measures extensively and that implementation should proceed as soon as possible.

For the longer term, he said, the government is still evaluating which generation technologies and capacity mix best fit projected demand and supply.

He said these measures form part of the country’s broader energy roadmap aimed at strengthening energy security.

“The Visayas needs more than answers — we need reliable, stable, and affordable power,” Benitez said.

Earlier, the House committees on Energy, Visayas Development, and Legislative Franchises held a joint briefing to seek explanations from the DOE and its attached agencies on the frequent power outages across the Visayas.

Two main proposals were discussed during the briefing: identifying and mandating priority areas for new power plants, and having a say on where plants are built to ensure the areas that need power most are served first.

The briefing also took up the retroactive implementation of the decoupling of the Luzon and Visayas grids.

This would trigger the Secondary Price Cap during yellow and red alert periods and could lower bills for consumers who paid steep prices while enduring rotational brownouts.

“Long-term solutions matter, but people who continue to bear the effects of this problem need relief now,” the lawmaker said.

Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez, chairperson of the House Committee on Energy, said the hearing responded to concerns raised by lawmakers over the region’s power situation.

“This meeting was called because of six resolutions (calling for) a hearing in aid of legislation para malaman ang lahat ng problema at kung ano ang gagawin. Kung gagawa po kami ng batas, o tatapusin na ng DOE at Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ang mga problema, kasama ng mga (power) generators at transmission operators,” he said.

The joint inquiry took up House Resolution Nos. 1024, 1031, 1114, 1429, 1430, and 1439, which seek an investigation into the Visayas’ power problems.

“The resolutions cover the back-to-back tripping of major transmission lines, the May 2026 manual load dropping, recurring red and yellow alerts, the unavailability and delayed capacity of newest power plants, continuing outages in Visayas, the procurement and delivery of consumer services, the adequacy of research, and the status of generation, energy storage, and transmission developments,” said Bataan 1st District Rep. Antonino Roman III, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.

Roman said “the (incidents) point to one central issue, whether the present power system is capable of providing Visayas with a stable, adequate, reliable, and affordable supply of electricity.”

He called on resource persons to provide clear answers backed by data to guide the committees in determining the necessary policy and legislative action.

Senior Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Ferdinand “Dinand” Hernandez said the hearing aimed to bring stakeholders together to resolve the region’s power problems.

“This is not a venue where we finger-point. This is an exercise to help find a solution to the situation of the Visayas,” he said.

Leyte 2nd District Rep. Lolita Javier, chairperson of the House Committee on Visayas Development, said the inquiry must look beyond supply figures, grid conditions, and technical classifications such as yellow and red alerts to consider the consequences of unreliable electricity on everyday life.

“Families, businesses, schools, hospitals and communities … are affected whenever the power supply becomes unstable,” Javier said.

She stressed that the Visayas deserves a reliable and resilient power system that can support the region’s continued growth and development.