Power supply constraints in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to stabilize this month as multiple power generation facilities resume commercial operations, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin announced Monday, September 7.
Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) indicates that Cebu Energy Development Corporation’s Unit 1 restarted operations on September 5.
Additional capacity will enter the Visayas grid as Therma Visayas Inc.’s Unit 1 resumes on September 15, followed by Panay Energy Development Corporation’s Unit 3 on October 3.
In Mindanao, Therma South Inc. is scheduled to bring Unit 2 back online on September 8 and Unit 1 on September 19. GNPower Kauswagan’s Unit 2 is also slated to restart by September 20.
The synchronized restoration of these facilities aims to reinforce reserve margins for both power grids, which experienced renewed red and yellow grid alerts early in the week.
Grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that the Visayas power grid has logged 96 yellow alerts and 33 red alerts since January. Over the same period, the Mindanao grid recorded 12 yellow alerts and three red alerts.
Garin highlighted that energy reserves will receive a further boost from commercial battery energy storage systems (BESS) developed by private generation firms. Approximately 253 megawatts of BESS capacity are scheduled for integration across facility sites in Cebu, Panay, Negros, and Leyte.
Addressing the persistent supply deficiencies in the central Philippines, Garin characterized the repeated outages in the Visayas as severe while confirming that energy regulators are prioritizing grid stabilization.
“We are restoring power fast, adding backup capacity, and holding accountable anyone — power plant or grid operator — who is slowing that down,” Garin said. “The most expensive electricity is no electricity at all.”
She underscored that operational recovery remains the immediate target for the energy sector:
”We want it fixed before we get to the part on accountability. Our first job is to stabilize the Visayas grid as fast as possible.”