VISAYAS OUTAGES ‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Fix it, blame later -DOE chief

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY — Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has called the continuing rotational brownouts across the Visayas “unacceptable,” saying her immediate priority is to stabilize the grid and restore adequate power supply before pursuing accountability measures.

Garin, in a press conference on Monday, Sept. 7, said the government is treating the power crisis with “utmost urgency” as outages continue to disrupt daily life and business operations.

“Over the past several days, in fact, several weeks already, the Visayas communities have experienced rotational power outages. The Visayas power situation is unacceptable, and we are treating it with utmost urgency,” she said.

“The most expensive electricity is no electricity at all,” she added.

Garin said the Department of Energy would prioritize restoring power and adding backup capacity before determining who should be held accountable for the continuing supply problems.

“The priority of the DOE is a sufficient and reliable power supply for Visayas. We are restoring power fast, adding backup capacity, and holding accountable anyone, power plant or grid operator, who is slowing that down,” she said.

“But right now, this time to fix the problem first. Let us not point fingers for now. We want it fixed before we get to the part of accountability,” she emphasized.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines recorded 96 yellow alerts and 33 red alerts in the Visayas from Jan. 1 to Sept. 7.

Mindanao logged 12 yellow alerts and three red alerts over the same period.

A yellow alert is raised when the grid’s operating reserve falls below the required level, while a red alert signals that supply can no longer meet demand and that load has to be shed.

Garin said the situation was largely caused by the simultaneous unavailability of several generating units, which reduced the reserve capacity needed to absorb sudden supply disruptions.

Without sufficient reserves, the grid becomes more vulnerable to rotational outages because it has less capacity to compensate when another generating unit suddenly trips.

“Our first job is to stabilize the Visayas grid as fast as possible […] Our immediate focus is getting available power back in the system,” Garin added.

The DOE said five generating units are scheduled to return this month.

The 82-megawatt (MW) Cebu Energy Development Corp. Unit 1 in Cebu already returned to service on Sept. 5.

Therma South Inc. (TSI) Unit 2 in Davao, with 150 MW, is scheduled to return by Sept. 8; Therma Visayas Unit 1, with 169 MW, by Sept. 15; TSI Unit 1, also with 150 MW, by Sept. 19; and GNPower Kauswagan Unit 2 in Lanao del Norte, with 103 MW, by Sept. 20.

The DOE said it is coordinating the return of the Mindanao-based generating units because these can provide support to the Visayas through the interconnected grid.

The Visayas and Mindanao grids were linked in 2023 through a high-voltage submarine cable, allowing surplus power in one island group to be transferred to the other.

Meanwhile, Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3 in Iloilo City, with 150 MW, is targeted to return by Oct. 3.

Battery backup targeted for Panay

As another immediate measure, the DOE is working to bring 253 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) into the Visayas grid.

The capacity is distributed across Panay, Cebu, Negros, and Leyte, with 50 MW allocated for Panay, 63 MW for Cebu, 100 MW for Negros, and 40 MW for Leyte.

Reagan Alcantara, lead specialist at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, said two BESS facilities are being prepared for Panay — one at EcoSolar Energy Corp. in Panitan, Capiz, and another at Salcon Power Corp. in Dingle, Iloilo.

The BESS rollout is expected to give the Visayas grid an additional buffer against sudden power shortages, particularly during yellow and red alerts.

“These are being fast-tracked at the moment, and we are hoping that within September or October, we can already see the entry of BESS in the Visayas grid,” Alcantara told Daily Guardian on Monday.

However, he said connecting the facilities to the grid involves several parties and technical processes, including NGCP, the power generators, and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.

Alcantara said some BESS facilities are already undergoing final connection, testing, and commissioning.

He noted that the DOE and NGCP are fast-tracking the process but must ensure that the systems are properly tested before connection, because improperly integrated storage could instead create instability in the grid.

“These are relatively not part of the original plan, and that means you have to undergo many testing and commissioning because grid stability is the critical part. If we fast-track without checking everything very well, it might be counterproductive and could create instability instead,” he said.

Plant outages remain critical

Outages in Mindanao have aggravated the supply situation, limiting the amount of excess power that can be transmitted to the Visayas.

“For now, there is power coming in from Mindanao, but the excess capacity that can be provided to us in the Visayas is limited,” Alcantara said.

He said the uncertainty in plant restoration schedules makes it difficult to provide a precise timeline for the end of rotational brownouts.

“It is a very dynamic scenario, so it is difficult to give a timeline. But if we base it on their commitments, perhaps we would be similar to the DOE’s timeline if they can really get back on those dates that they mentioned,” he said.

Alcantara emphasized that the eventual stability of the Visayas grid remains dependent on the scheduled return of generating units and improved supply from the interconnected grid.

Alcantara acknowledged the frustration caused by the continuing outages, saying NGCP is working to prevent a more serious grid disturbance.

“We really understand and empathize since all of us are affected, not just the residents. We are all experiencing this together,” he said.

He said NGCP continues to implement measures to keep the grid stable, although manual load dropping remains necessary when available generation cannot meet demand.

Manual load dropping forces distribution utilities to implement rotational brownouts in their franchise areas.

“We cannot do otherwise but resort to that (MLD) temporarily because we really have low supply of power coming from the power plants,” Alcantara said.

“If the supply is insufficient, we really have to offload some loads that cannot be met based on the supply,” he added.