The Department of Energy (DOE) is targeting the resolution of persistent electricity issues in the Visayas and Mindanao before the end of the year as it ramps up the deployment of diesel power barges and additional battery storage systems.
‘I’m working on it to fix the issue before Christmas. It’s not easy, but that’s the target,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on the sidelines of the 7th Philippine International Geothermal Conference in Batangas.
Garin said they are just awaiting battery energy storage systems to connect to the transmission network, as well as the arrival of diesel barges.
As for long-term solutions, the DOE has already mapped out what baseload power plants will come in by 2028 to 2030, she added.
‘That will really make Visayas more healthy energy-wise,’ Garin said.
She also cited the new circulars and guidelines of the DOE regarding accountability for generation companies, with potential suspension, cancellation of certificate of endorsement, or blacklisting as possible penalties should they fail to maintain their facilities.
Red, yellow alerts
The two main islands, particularly the Visayas, have been suffering from thin power supply due to outages in major coal power plants.
In the past weeks, both Visayas and Mindanao have been under red and yellow alerts multiple times. Since the start of the year, however, there have been 93 yellow and 30 red alerts raised over the Visayas compared to 10 yellow and three red alerts for Mindanao.
On Thursday alone, both islands were placed under a nine-hour red alert.
A yellow alert indicates that available power reserves are thinning, meaning any unexpected plant outage could trigger service interruptions. A red alert, on the other hand, means supply is insufficient to meet demand, increasing the likelihood of rotational brownouts unless consumption is managed.
The situation has prompted the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to implement manual load dropping (MLD) in several areas in the Visayas due to limited generation and zero electricity import from Mindanao.
MLD refers to a controlled and temporary power interruption in selected areas to maintain grid stability. It is typically implemented to prevent blackouts