Luzon, Visayas grids return to normal after week of power alerts

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced Saturday that the Luzon and Visayas power grids had returned to normal operations following a week of red and yellow alerts that triggered rotational brownouts in several parts of the country.

Data released by the NGCP at 6 a.m. showed that available capacity in the Luzon grid had risen to 15,799 megawatts, exceeding actual demand of 12,107 megawatts.

The Visayas grid also stabilized, posting an available capacity of 2,768 megawatts against demand of 2,339 megawatts.

The Department of Energy later confirmed by 10:30 a.m. that both grids had normalized.

Authorities attributed the improvement to lower electricity demand during the weekend and the return to full operations of three major power generation facilities.

The restoration of Unit 1 of GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., which contributed 668 megawatts, along with Units 2 and 3 of Excellent Energy Resources Inc., which restored 422 MW and 420 MW respectively, added a total of 1,510 megawatts back to the grid.

The resulting power surplus in Luzon also enabled the resumption of electricity exports to the Visayas.

Before the alerts were lifted late Friday night, prolonged red alerts — which indicate that available power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand — resulted in manual load dropping and widespread outages affecting millions of consumers.

At the height of the crisis, Manila Electric Company reported that more than 540,000 customers in parts of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Quezon, and Rizal experienced rotational power interruptions lasting up to three hours.

The prolonged outages prompted calls for accountability and immediate reforms from government regulators and business groups.

Sharon Garin said the DOE is focused on ensuring a stable power supply, protecting consumers, and enforcing accountability across the power sector.

“The public deserves a full and transparent accounting of the incidents that led to these grid alerts, and we are requiring NGCP to comply fully with all reportorial and regulatory obligations,” Garin said.

Meanwhile, Francis Saturnino Juan, chairperson of the Energy Regulatory Commission, conducted an unannounced inspection at the System Operations Command Center to monitor live grid telemetry.

Juan said the public deserves “a clear and comprehensive account” of the disruptions.

The commercial sector also called for long-term infrastructure reforms following the economic disruptions caused by the outages.

Speaking during an energy summit prior to the grid collapse, Perry Ferrer, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urged decisive action from both government and industry stakeholders.

“What we need now is the will — the political will, the institutional will, the collective national will — to act with the decisiveness that this moment demands,” Ferrer said.

The DOE said it is coordinating with the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, the ERC, and generation companies to help prevent future disruptions and maintain grid stability.

The NGCP, meanwhile, said it is targeting the completion of seven major infrastructure projects in 2026 worth an estimated P18.5 billion.

The grid operator also appealed for government assistance in addressing right-of-way and permitting issues that continue to delay transmission projects.

“We take our obligations under our franchise and concession agreement seriously,” the NGCP said.

“Despite continuing challenges in right-of-way and permitting, we remain committed to the work ahead and are optimistic about completing these projects within the year,” it added.