‘JUST A LITTLE PATIENCE, PLEASE’: Garin fast-tracks batteries, power barges to ease Visayas brownouts

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The Visayas is likely to remain under power-supply pressure into 2027, with yellow and red alerts expected to persist while the government fast-tracks the operation of battery energy storage systems and power barges, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said.

Garin spoke to local reporters on Monday, Sept. 14, after meeting with the Regional Development Council (RDC) 6 on the supply shortfall behind the daily rotational brownouts in Western Visayas.

She said the DOE is pursuing both immediate and long-term measures to address the shortage.

The immediate interventions are intended to reduce the number and duration of alerts, although she cautioned that the region’s power alerts will not disappear at once.

“I hope within the next month, all these red and yellow alerts — it will not be eliminated, but it will be reduced […] Hopefully within the year you will feel a decline in alerts. I cannot promise you a total, but hopefully we will have a good Christmas this year,” she said.

A yellow alert is raised when the grid’s operating reserves fall below the required contingency level, while a red alert means supply is insufficient to meet demand, prompting rotational outages.

Among the short-term measures is the deployment of a 253-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system, with 50 MW allocated for Panay.

She also urged the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to expedite the contracts and grid connections needed to bring the battery systems online.

“We have been pushing NGCP to complete the contract. I already issued directives to them and a show-cause order as early as June. It has been two or three months, and now the situation is getting worse for the Visayas,” Garin said.

She appealed to NGCP to speed up the process, saying the battery systems could significantly reduce the alerts once connected.

“I am really appealing for cooperation. I am appealing to NGCP to finish this. It may not completely eliminate the problem, but it can significantly reduce it — possibly by 50 percent,” she said.

Garin also disclosed plans to bring additional temporary power barges to Panay, including those being arranged by MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power).

“These will come in by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year. MORE Power’s barges are also expected by then […] Hopefully the schedules will be followed,” she said.

The temporary measures are necessary while the government waits for permanent generation projects, which take considerably longer to build, she said.

“What we are doing is just trying to find temporary solutions. They are not cheap, but at least the most expensive power is no power at all,” Garin said.

‘DOE is working hard’

Garin acknowledged the inconvenience experienced by consumers, including complaints over electricity prices, but said prolonged power interruptions could impose an even greater burden.

She said the DOE was working with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to accelerate the implementation of measures to stabilize the grid.

“Rest assured that the President has been asking us and working with us to make sure that this gets done as fast as possible,” Garin said.

She acknowledged, however, that some limitations remain because energy projects take time to complete.

“We have limitations because these are long-term projects. That is why the DOE is also working hard to make sure that these come as fast as possible, but as safely as possible,” she said.

“Gamay lang nga pasensiya (Just a little patience). We are trying hard to finish this as soon as possible,” Garin added.

The DOE has also adopted a 2026 policy aimed at ensuring a sufficient, reliable, affordable, and secure power supply, while NGCP maintains separate operating outlooks for the Visayas and individual areas such as Panay, underscoring the need to address both generation and grid requirements.

An inherited problem

Garin said the current power shortage could not be resolved through a single directive because the development of new generation capacity requires years.

“Unfortunately, the power problems we have now are problems we inherited. They cannot be fixed in one go or through a single directive […] These things should have been planned out. When you plan for energy, you plan beyond 10 years,” she said.

She said the DOE was asking generation companies to complete projects within three years instead of the usual five-year period.

The DOE previously announced that additional dependable and renewable energy capacity is expected for Panay-Negros in 2028.

These plans include 135 MW of baseload capacity in 2028, 270 MW in 2029, 150 MW in 2030, and 135 MW in 2031.

Another 100 MW of renewable energy is expected in 2028 and 270 MW in 2029.

“Hopefully, they can bring them online by 2028,” Garin said.

This means the Visayas could continue facing a supply gap through 2026 and 2027 while the long-term projects are being completed, she said.

Panay’s vulnerability was laid bare in January 2024, when a cascade of plant trips triggered an island-wide blackout that lasted days in parts of Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique.

Garin said the DOE had already projected the possibility of yellow and red alerts in the Visayas as early as last year.

“We announced this projection last year that there would really be alerts. That is why we have been campaigning for energy savings, Earth Hour and solarization, and trying to ensure that generation companies maintain their plants,” she said.

Resignation calls

Amid calls for her resignation as energy secretary over the continuing power crisis, Garin said she would leave the decision to Marcos.

“I work at the pleasure of the President, and I will leave it to him. If he thinks I am not doing a good job or that I should step down, then I will do so,” she said.

She also declined to assign blame for the current situation.

“I will not point fingers at who is at fault here or who should have done this. What we need to do right now is not blame whoever. We just need to work together,” Garin said.