Iloilo City mayor seeks faster approval of 3 power projects

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu has asked the national government to speed up approval of new power projects for Iloilo and Panay Island as rotational brownouts and a tight electricity supply persist across the Visayas.

The city is pursuing three commitments for additional generation capacity — two projects in Iloilo City and one serving the Panay-Guimaras area — as part of efforts to build redundancy into the power system, Treñas-Chu said.

The first covers additional generation capacity from Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC), which is targeted to become operational by 2028.

PEDC operates a 278.4-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant complex in La Paz, Iloilo City.

The second is a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power project expected to enter Iloilo City, similar to the LNG facility in Batangas, which has a generation capacity of 2,475 MW.

The third came from MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), the sole distribution utility of Iloilo City, which committed to establish a 40-MW power barge in Guimaras targeted for operation in the first quarter of 2027, the mayor said.

“These are the investments that we need to continue pursuing because we cannot depend on just one source of power,” she said.

“Especially here in Panay, where we are at the tail end of the grid, we need more generation, more sources, and more redundancy,” she added.

Fast-track approvals

Treñas-Chu acknowledged that the city government does not directly control the manual load shedding being implemented by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which has resulted in rotational brownouts in areas across the Visayas.

But she said the city would continue working with the national government and power sector stakeholders instead of simply waiting for the situation to improve.

“We know how frustrating these continuing interruptions and rotational brownouts are for our people,” Treñas-Chu said.

“We are also calling on the national government to help fast-track the approval process so that they can immediately start construction,” she added.

The mayor said faster regulatory approvals would allow committed investors to begin construction and bring additional capacity online sooner.

Treñas-Chu said the city would also continue looking for investors willing to develop additional power generation capacity in Iloilo.

“We will continue looking for investors who can bring additional power-generation capacity into Iloilo, and work with the power utilities, private sector, and other stakeholders to strengthen our supply and make the city less vulnerable to disruptions,” she said.

Treñas-Chu has previously acknowledged that there is no immediate solution to the power shortage and has called for additional generation and closer coordination among stakeholders.

 

Grid under strain

The appeal comes as the Visayas grid moves in and out of alert status. NGCP placed the grid under red alert on Sept. 3, citing the unavailability of several power plants and limited electricity imports from Mindanao, with available capacity at about 2,187 MW against a projected peak demand of 2,575 MW.

The grid operator issued a fresh manual load dropping advisory for Sept. 4, again citing limited generation and the absence of imported power from the Mindanao grid.

Among the plants NGCP has cited as unavailable are Therma Visayas Inc. Units 1 and 2 and PEDC Unit 3, with the load dropping affecting distribution utilities in Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras.

Panay carries a particular sensitivity to grid failures following the island-wide blackout of January 2024, which cut power to Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras for several days.

The Department of Energy projects that Panay and Negros will receive 1,060 MW of new generation capacity by 2031, a timeline that places most structural relief years beyond the current shortage.