Electricity bills for households and businesses in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to rise this September after spot market prices surged near P20 per kilowatt-hour in August due to tightening supply and high demand.
The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines reported that August spot prices climbed 64.7 percent to P18.59 per kWh in the Visayas and 88.2 percent to P19.56 per kWh in Mindanao.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines placed the Visayas grid under a red alert from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and a yellow alert until 11 p.m., while Mindanao experienced an eight-hour yellow alert.
ELECTRICITY bills for households and businesses in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to rise this September after spot market prices surged near P20 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in August.
A wave of power plant outages and limited electricity reserves continued to strain both regional power grids entering September.
According to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), market rates jumped significantly across the southern island groups due to tighter supply and high demand:
Visayas: Spot prices climbed 64.7 percent to P18.59 per kWh in August, up from P11.29 in July.
Mindanao: Spot prices rose 88.2 percent to P19.56 per kWh, up from P10.39 in July.
Luzon: Prices fell 34.2 percent to P4.80 per kWh, down from P7.30 in July.
IEMOP manages the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), where producers and distributors buy and sell power to help meet grid demand.
These higher wholesale costs cover the July 26–August 25 billing period and will reflect on September bills. However, the exact rate change for individual households depends on how each local utility purchases its electricity and applies billing adjustments. Spot market prices are distinct from final residential rates, which also factor in generation, transmission, distribution, and other standard charges.
Supply shortages remained severe on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas grid under a nine-hour red alert from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by a yellow alert until 11 p.m.
A red alert indicates that electricity supply cannot meet consumer demand and necessary grid stability requirements, while a yellow alert means operating reserves are insufficient.
In the Visayas, available power capacity stood at about 2,124 megawatts (MW) against a projected peak demand of 2,555 MW, leaving a deficit of 431 MW. NGCP cited forced outages at Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) Units 1 and 2, alongside Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3, as primary factors.
Reports from the Philippine News Agency noted that 11 Visayas power plants were unavailable during the month, over 20 had ongoing outages dating back to 2024, and 11 operated below capacity, removing a total of 982.6 MW from the regional grid.
Mindanao experienced an eight-hour yellow alert on the same day from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Available capacity of 2,731 MW narrowly exceeded peak demand of 2,600 MW by 131 MW, which fell short of required contingency reserves. Outages at GNPower Kauswagan Units 2 and 3 contributed to the shortfall. Overall, 13 Mindanao plants were unavailable during the month, 16 remained offline from earlier 2024 outages, and six operated at reduced capacity, removing 769.7 MW from the grid.
The persistent supply shortages have already pushed up local costs in Cebu. In July, utility provider Visayan Electric reported that generation deficits forced it to purchase higher-cost power from the spot market.
To buffer consumers from a single massive price increase, the utility obtained approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission to defer a portion of its generation costs, holding its July residential rate to P14.90 per kWh instead of the calculated P17.59 per kWh.
With offline generation facilities still undergoing repairs and grid reserves remaining thin, consumers across the Visayas and Mindanao will likely see the impact of these market conditions on their upcoming electricity statements. SUNSTAR PHILIPPINES