The Regional Development Council in Western Visayas is preparing to appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a “state of power emergency” as the Visayas continues to face tight electricity supply and recurring power disruptions.
RDC-6 co-chair Lawyer Jobert Peñaflorida said Tuesday that the council is completing an urgent resolution seeking the declaration, which officials believe could help speed up government interventions and the development of additional power projects.
According to Peñaflorida, the declaration could also facilitate the processing of permits and other regulatory requirements for energy projects intended to address the region’s supply shortage.
RDC-6 is also looking at securing the backing of development councils in Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and the Negros Island Region for the proposed measure.
The council is separately preparing a resolution urging authorities to study a power interconnection between the Visayas and Luzon, which could provide another source of electricity for the region.
“We want to connect Visayas to Luzon in terms of power supply. This will be very technical; it will not be immediate,” Peñaflorida said.
He said the proposed link should be viewed as a long-term solution, particularly because the region may continue to experience supply constraints in the coming years.
“Considering that we are looking at the power crisis or power situation to be very challenging in the next three to five years, we welcome this so we won’t have to wait for another crisis,” he said.
The proposed measures followed Energy Secretary Sharon Garin’s presentation on the Visayas power situation during Monday’s RDC-6 meeting.
Data from the Department of Energy presented during the meeting showed that Luzon currently has more than 3,000 megawatts of excess capacity. Available supply in the island stood at 14,262 MW against a peak demand of 10,780 MW.
The Visayas, however, is dealing with an estimated 415-MW supply deficit, a situation that has contributed to repeated yellow and red alerts and electricity interruptions in various areas.
Western Visayas is considered particularly vulnerable because it is located at the far end of the distribution grid, Peñaflorida said.
Some additional generating capacity is expected to become available soon. Therma Visayas plants in Cebu are scheduled to return to service on September 16 and 17, adding a combined 300 MW.
In Iloilo, the Panay Energy Development Corporation facility is expected to resume operations on October 3, providing another 150 MW of capacity.
Peñaflorida said Garin had asked the RDC to help monitor the rehabilitation of the facilities and ensure that their scheduled return to operation stays on schedule.
The DOE is also preparing to deploy ancillary services, including battery energy storage systems, to store excess electricity produced during periods of low demand and release it when consumption increases.
The planned storage projects have a combined capacity of 253 MW, including a 50-MW facility slated for installation in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.