CONSUMERS may face higher electricity rates this September after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) raised multiple yellow alert advisories in August, signaling tight power supply in the Visayas grid.
NGCP issued four yellow alerts between August 1 and 6 due to a thin power supply margin.
The alerts indicated that available power was not enough to meet demand securely, which could drive up prices in the spot market.
Niel Parcon, vice president for corporate energy sourcing and regulatory affairs of More Power, said that yellow alerts are triggered when the supply margin falls below the capacity of the largest generating unit in the grid.
He said the situation has pushed electricity prices upward.
"Unfortunately last month, starting August 1, the price of our electricity increased, which is the result of the lack of supply of our electricity in the market throughout the Philippines," he said.
Parcon said the issue of power outages is not confined to the Visayas or Iloilo City but affects the entire Philippines, with the Visayas, particularly Panay, experiencing the hardest hit due to its position at the end of the NGCP transmission line network.
Because of the thin supply margin, Panay Island has had to source power from Luzon, Negros, and Mindanao.
NGCP recorded an available capacity of 2,528 megawatts compared to 2,475 megawatts in demand, leaving only a 53-megawatt reserve, a level considered critical.
The Department of Energy confirmed that 14 power generation facilities, including coal plants, went offline last month, further tightening supply.
"We say that because of that, the price of electricity went up because of course, there was a shortage. Suppliers market, and everyone who bids in our market is raising prices because they know there is a shortage," he said.
Parcon said the current situation is typical of the law of supply and demand, distinguishing it from prior months that experienced high supply.
More Power, the distribution utility serving Iloilo City, sources its electricity from these generation plants.
Parcon said one solution to address supply concerns is for More Power to establish its own generation facilities to ensure stability.
He added that the company is working to maintain the lowest power rates in Panay despite the supply crunch.
Parcon assured the public that power rates may gradually normalize in the coming billing cycles as they continue monitoring generation costs. (Leo Solinap)