THE Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light) assured consumers that Mindanao remains stable with no yellow alert status declared for September 2025, unlike in August when certain grid alerts were issued in parts of the Visayas-Mindanao network.
Speaking at the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps briefing on Wednesday, September 17, Davao Light Reputation Head Fermin Edillon said the absence of a yellow alert reflects the grid’s healthy reserve margin.
“As of karon, wala nami naka-receive og Yellow Alert diri sa Mindanao (As of now, we have not received any Yellow Alert here in Mindanao),” Edillion said.
A yellow alert is declared by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) when power reserves fall below the grid’s contingency requirement. While it signals a thinning margin between supply and demand, it does not yet mean rotational brownouts will occur.
A red alert, by contrast, indicates the possibility of actual power interruptions.
Edillon noted that although there is no yellow alert this September, electricity demand is projected to rise in the coming “ber” months, particularly from October to November, as businesses, commercial establishments, and industries consume more power during peak production and holiday-related activities.
“Posible musaka ang demand sa karon ilabina sa October hantod November kay busy ang mga pabrika ana ug uban pa [establishments], unya tig-andam pud na, except sa December kay daghan holiday,” Edillon added.
(The demand may rise starting now, especially from October to November, since factories and other establishments are busy during that time and are also preparing for the season, except in December when there are many holidays.)
He then stated that such seasonal surges highlight the importance of maintaining adequate reserves to prevent potential supply issues as demand intensifies.
The NGCP confirmed that no grid-wide yellow or red alerts were raised for Mindanao in August, though a series of yellow alerts were issued for the Visayas-Mindanao grid in the first week of that month due to plant shutdowns and low operating margins.
Despite these alerts, energy officials maintain that Mindanao continues to enjoy a comfortable surplus.
The Department of Energy-Mindanao (DOE-Mindanao) earlier said the region is expected to remain free from major supply disruptions throughout 2025, unlike Luzon and Visayas where supply conditions are more fragile.
DOE-Mindanao Senior Science Research Specialist Erick George D. Uy attributed this stability to improved grid reliability, the consistent surplus in generation capacity, and the introduction of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in January 2023, which allows real-time electricity trading to balance supply and demand.
Uy also pointed to the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP), which enables the transfer of up to 900 megawatts of power from Mindanao to the Visayas. This system not only helps address deficits in other regions but also reinforces Mindanao’s role as a reliable contributor to the national grid.
While the grid remains stable, consumers will feel the effect of higher electricity rates this month. Davao Light announced that its residential rate rose to P1.56 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from September 11 to October 10, compared to P0.3010/kWh in the previous billing cycle.
“The rate is attributed to the higher power supply prices in the WESM following power plant outages, which is among the factors that led to the yellow alert issued by the NGCP and the increase to generation cost particularly from the stock market where Davao Light gets its power requirement [which] directly affect the overall rate charge to its consumers,” the official stated.
Edilon noted that the yellow alert last August this year had caused an impact for this month’s overall rate.
Furthermore, Davao Light emphasized that while yellow alerts have minimal impact on electricity pricing, fluctuations in supply costs and transmission fees directly influence consumers’ monthly bills.
“We would like to continue encouraging the use of power-efficient electricity. Ang power consumers mismo ang naga-control sa ilahang mga kuryente” (The power consumers themselves are the ones who control their electricity), he said.