The Visayas power grid remains vulnerable to recurring power alerts as three major coal-fired power plants stay offline, significantly reducing available electricity reserves across the region, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
The warning came after the Visayas grid was again placed under a yellow alert on Friday, June 12, 2026, due to thinning reserves caused by prolonged plant outages and rising electricity demand.
Michael Ortega Ligalig, government relations and regional affairs lead specialist for NGCP District 2 (Cebu-Bohol), said the region’s transmission network remains stable, but the continued shutdown of Therma Visayas (TVI) Unit 1, TVI Unit 2 and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) Unit 3 has weakened the grid’s ability to absorb additional disruptions.
“There are three big power plants that are on forced outage — Thermal Visayas Unit 1, Thermal Visayas Unit 2 in Toledo and PEDC Unit 3 in Iloilo. These are major factors behind the lack of power supply because they remain on forced outage,” Ligalig said.
NGCP data showed that the Visayas grid had an available capacity of 2,663 megawatts (MW) against a projected peak demand of 2,441 MW during the alert period on Thursday, June 11. A total of 863.3 MW remained unavailable to the grid, with seven plants on forced outage in June, eight since May, one since March, three since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023 and one since 2021, while nine other plants operated on derated capacities.
A yellow alert is issued when operating reserves fall below the required contingency level, meaning the grid still has enough supply to meet demand but has little buffer if another major generating unit suddenly trips.
Plant Maintenance
Ligalig said some affected power plants are undergoing scheduled annual maintenance. “Some of these power plants are on maintenance activity. Every year they have a maintenance schedule,” he said.
The prolonged absence of several large generating units has raised concerns among consumers and industry stakeholders, as some plants have been offline for months or even years. Previous Department of Energy (DOE) reports identified the shutdown of TVI Units 1 and 2 and PEDC Unit 3 as primary causes of the recurring alerts. The DOE said PEDC Unit 3 should return by July, while TVI Units 1 and 2 are targeted to resume operations in August.
A recent magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao further tightened power reserves after several generating facilities on the island were affected, limiting electricity exports to the Visayas. “What happened in Mindanao, there are power plants that were also affected by the earthquake. Since the Visayas are getting power from Mindanao, we issued a red alert the other day,” Ligalig said.
Reduced power imports from Mindanao contributed to the yellow alert declaration after earthquake-related disruptions hit generating facilities in the southern grid.
Red Alerts
While the Visayas grid returned to yellow alert status, the NGCP warned that the situation remains fragile. “The yellow alert can escalate into a red alert if more power plants are out of line and demand would continue to soar high,” Ligalig said.
A red alert occurs when available supply cannot meet projected demand, often resulting in manual load dropping or rotational power interruptions. The Visayas grid experienced several red alerts in May and early June when multiple generating units simultaneously went offline during periods of high demand.
The NGCP said consumers should not expect rotational brownouts under a yellow alert. “Only when we are on red alert might we implement rotational brownouts. If we are on yellow alert, there is no rotational brownout or outage,” Ligalig said.
He urged households and businesses to conserve electricity to ease pressure on the grid. “If there are appliances that are not in use, unplug them. If we can spare it, using an electric fan is better because it consumes less power than an air-conditioner,” he said.
Although the NGCP emphasized that all transmission lines and substations operate normally, the recurring alerts have drawn scrutiny toward the prolonged plant outages and the pace of restoration. “The NGCP transmission lines are normal. There is nothing wrong with the NGCP. All our substations are operating normally, but the power plants are out,” Ligalig said.
He added that questions regarding restoration plans fall under the jurisdiction of the DOE and power generation companies. Despite assurances that several units will return in the coming months, the Visayas grid remains heavily dependent on the restoration of the three major coal plants to rebuild its reserve margins.
