RELIABLE electricity has become a key competitiveness issue for Cebu as recurring grid alerts raise concerns over operating costs, investor confidence and the region’s ability to sustain economic growth.
Business groups and energy stakeholders are calling for a coordinated long-term strategy to strengthen the Visayas power system after repeated yellow and red alerts exposed the region’s thin reserve margins.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said the Visayas needs more dependable baseload generation, a geographically diversified energy mix and resource adequacy planning to reduce its reliance on electricity imports from Luzon and Mindanao.
More baseload capacity needed
Speaking before a House of Representatives hearing in May 2026, NGCP president and chief executive officer Anthony Almeda said inter-island power sharing should remain only a supplemental measure.
“The Visayas dependency on power imported from Luzon and Mindanao must also be addressed,” Almeda said, adding that more baseload capacity is needed to prevent red alerts from becoming a regular occurrence.
The urgency was highlighted during a recent series of grid alerts when the Visayas was left with only a 183-megawatt (MW) reserve margin, leaving little room to absorb plant outages, transmission constraints and unexpected spikes in demand.
Baseload power, which operates continuously regardless of weather conditions, remains essential in maintaining supply stability, particularly for an island grid where reserve margins can tighten quickly.
The Department of Energy’s latest project pipeline shows more than 3,880 MW of committed renewable energy projects in the Visayas, alongside about 420 MW of energy storage and 312 MW of non-renewable capacity.
Industry stakeholders, however, noted that many of these projects still face permitting, financing, transmission and grid integration challenges before they can contribute to the grid.
Yellow alert
The latest alert for the Visayas grid was issued on Friday, July 24, when NGCP declared a yellow alert from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Available capacity stood at 2,682 MW, against peak demand of 2,453 MW.
NGCP said three generating units have been on forced outage since July, three since June, seven since May, one since March, three since 2025, three since 2024, two since 2023 and one since 2021. Another 16 generating units are operating at derated capacities, leaving a total of 763.5 MW unavailable to the grid.
Also contributing to the yellow alert were the unavailability of Therma Visayas, Inc. Units 1 and 2 and the scheduled Grid Operating and Maintenance Program outage of Cebu Energy Development Corp. Unit 1.
A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.
Long-term planning
Even as immediate supply concerns persist, Cebu is stepping up long-term energy planning.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said the Province will formulate a Provincial Energy Master Plan that will align national policies, local priorities and private sector initiatives.
“Under my administration, we are not waiting — we are acting,” Baricuatro said, adding that the roadmap aims to make Cebu “energy-secure, climate-resilient and future-ready.”
Impact on businesses
Business leaders warned that unreliable electricity could translate into higher operating costs, production disruptions and reduced investor confidence.
Talisay Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Carl Cabusas said the priority should now be implementing long-term solutions.
“At this point, the focus should be on solutions. We already know the challenge before us: demand is growing faster than available power supply,” said Cabusas.
He urged government and industry to accelerate power generation projects, strengthen transmission infrastructure and ensure adequate capacity for future demand.
With manufacturing, tourism, logistics, business process outsourcing and real estate driving Cebu’s economy, stakeholders said a stable electricity supply will be essential to sustaining growth, supporting business expansion and attracting new investments. / KOC