President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Energy (DOE) and collaborating government agencies to swiftly stabilize the country’s power grid conditions following a series of disruptive electricity outages across parts of Luzon and the Visayas.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed that the DOE, executing the President’s mandate, has ordered the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to implement immediate corrective measures.
“Under the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to immediately stabilize grid conditions and protect consumers from power disruptions, the DOE swiftly ordered NGCP’s restoration of affected transmission lines,” Castro said, reading an official statement from the DOE.
The recent grid instability was linked to issues involving critical infrastructure, specifically the Tayabas-Ilijan 500kV and Dasmariñas-Ilijan 500kV transmission lines.
To ensure transparency, the NGCP has been mandated to submit a “full technical and incident reporting to ensure accountability and the safe return of critical capacities to the grid.” Furthermore, the DOE stated it is actively collaborating with private generation companies to safely bring affected power supply capacities back online.
In a bid to institutionalize the response, the department has mobilized a specialized grid reliability task force. This team includes representatives from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).
The government intervention comes after both the Luzon and Visayas grids were placed under yellow and red alerts, triggered by a combination of forced power plant shutdowns and surging electricity demand during the peak of the hot dry season. A yellow alert signifies that the operating margin is insufficient to meet the grid’s contingency requirements, while a red alert indicates a critical generation deficiency or zero ancillary services.
The power situation remains precarious, with the Visayas grid placed under another yellow alert on Monday due to ongoing forced plant outages.