NGCP speeds up power restoration efforts after #UwanPH

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has vowed to restore transmission lines and facilities destroyed by recent typhoons as soon as possible to bring back normalcy in affected areas.

In a press briefing in San Juan City on Tuesday, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said at least 16 structures were toppled due to Super Typhoon Uwan.

“As of 9 a.m., there are 16 toppled structures. We have 12 leaning structures. Then, there are 26 other facilities that have cut conductors or cut cables,” Alabanza said.

“It hasn’t been restored yet. Mountain Province still doesn’t have transmission services. What we mean by that is that there are areas that have transmission facilities and areas that don’t have transmission facilities,” she added.

Alabanza explained that some areas currently have no transmission service because electric cooperatives have yet to reach the affected sites.

“When we say that it’s partial, it doesn’t mean that there’s electricity in other areas. It’s possible that there are areas that have transmission services but the cooperatives aren’t ready yet,” she said.

According to NGCP, the provinces of Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon in the Bicol Region, and the province of Quezon, have partial transmission services. In Visayas, only Northern Samar has affected towers.

“The rest of the country has normal transmission services. But again, it’s not normal for the NGCP and transmission services. It doesn’t mean that the service of electricity is complete,” Alabanza said.

“It’s possible that it won’t reach because the cooperatives still have problems. But again, the NGCP is helping the cooperatives so that the companies can finish,” she added.

NGCP said it cannot yet estimate the total cost of damage as restoration remains the priority.

“Not yet. We will think about it in a few days. Right now, our focus is restoration,” Alabanza said. “It will take a few more months before we can estimate the cost of restoration.”

The Department of Energy has given the NGCP a 10-day deadline to restore the transmission lines damaged by the typhoons.

“Right now, with the information that we have, NGCP can make that deadline,” Alabanza said.

Meanwhile, NGCP also announced a slight increase in transmission rates this month due to higher Ancillary Services (AS) charges.

AS rates — which are pass-through costs for power supplied by generators during supply-demand imbalances — increased by P0.0997/kWh from P0.6546/kWh in September to P0.7542/kWh in October, marking a 15.23 percent rise.

NGCP stressed that it does not earn from AS charges, as these are remitted directly to generation companies and to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.

NGCP’s effective transmission wheeling rate increased by P0.0034/kWh, from P0.5920/kWh in September to P0.5953/kWh in October, equivalent to a 0.57 percent adjustment.

Overall, the average transmission rate for the October 2025 billing period increased by 7.91 percent to P1.5105/kWh, up from September’s P1.3998/kWh.