ILOILO City — Recurring rotational brownouts are no longer merely an inconvenience — they are eating into livelihoods, damaging appliances, disrupting education and worsening the financial strain on families already grappling with high electricity, fuel and living costs.
Small entrepreneurs, drivers and parents interviewed by Panay News described repeated outages lasting for hours, sometimes occurring during critical business hours and at night, forcing them to absorb losses from spoiled goods, interrupted operations and damaged electrical equipment.
The growing burden on consumers comes as Iloilo City’s Mayor Raisa Treñas pushes for additional power generation capacity, including a planned integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, while acknowledging that there is “no instant solution” to the recurring power problem.
Businesses take the hit
For Ma. Eida Villasis, 60, of Barangay Calubihan, Jaro district, every outage threatens several sources of livelihood.
Villasis operates a neighborhood sari-sari store, an internet café and a frozen goods business — operations that depend heavily on a stable electricity supply.
“Mga ice gakatunaw. Mga appliances gakaguba. Aga-hapon naga-brownout. Kon may negosyo ka nga computer-ran indi ka maka-income kay brownout,” Villasis told Panay News.
Outages can strike from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. or from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., said Villasis, making it difficult to anticipate when electricity will be available.
She also complained that sudden power restoration could expose appliances to damaging voltage fluctuations.
Three hours in the dark
For Mars Villanueva, a 58-year-old taxi driver from Arevalo district, the problem goes beyond the local distribution utility.
“Indi ta man mabasol ang MORE (Electric and) Power (Corporation). Ang basulon ta da ang NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines). Kulang supply ginahatag. Amon brownout mga alas 3 asta alas 6…alternate man mo. Gaka-brownout man kami kon gab-i, mga 9 p.m. na to siguro gasiga, ga-three hours,” Villanueva said.
But regardless of who is responsible, Villanueva said families ultimately suffer the consequences.
Three-hour outages make moving around a darkened house difficult and disrupt sleep, particularly for family members working unconventional hours.
“Mabudlay gid. Sympre sa balay, may bata nga gamay mo. May isa man ko ka bata nga ga ubra sa call center. Indi sia katulog and kapahuway mayad, awat gid sa ubra na. Damo kami sa balay. Kag mabudlay gid mahulag nga madulom,” Villanueva stressed.
Bills high, income down
For tricycle driver Edwin Tolentino, 57, of Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo, the outages come on top of shrinking income and rising household expenses.
“Reklamo gid na namon diri kag palamangkutanon. Ngaa adlaw-adlaw na lang gid ga-brownout? Kabudlay-budlay gid. Sang una indi man muni,” said Tolentino.
He said his family has already cut electricity consumption, yet the household’s electricity bill remains burdensome.
“Amon bill dako ka ayo. Gani bombilya na lang kami. Waay na kami gagamit fluorescent. Tama na gid subong ka mahal ang tanan,” Tolentino said.
Tolentino said his household of five is already struggling financially as competition from e-bikes and higher gasoline prices squeeze his earnings as a tricycle driver.
“Bali isa lang kami ka compound. Lima kami sa balay. Kag maiwat pa nga daan ya byahe subong, makakompetesiya ka sa mga ga e-bike. Dugangan pa nga nagtaas naman gasoline. Imbes nga P500 ang makita ko sa byahe-byahe, subong ga-P200 na lang,” Tolentino stressed.
Tolentino said outages in their area normally begin between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and can last until 9 p.m.
Students suffer, too
The effects extend beyond businesses and household finances.
In neighboring Pavia, Iloilo, Niro Catalbas, a 46-year-old e-bike driver from Purok 3, said recurring outages are interfering with his children’s education.
Blackouts lasting more than two hours sometimes strike around 5 p.m. or as late as 10 p.m. — precisely when students are doing homework and other school requirements.
“Budlay gid nga kada gab-i ga-brownout kay magin-ot, may lamok kag istorbo man sa mga kabataan sa ila mga assignments,” said Catalbas.
“Tatlo pa nga daan mga kabataan ko. Kon mag-brownout gaka-istorbo ila mga ulubrahon sa eskwelahan. Grade 11 kag may college, ang isa waay pa gaeskwela,” Catalbas shared.
“Ang brownout kis-a alas 5 p.m., kis-a alas 10 sa gab-i…mga sobra duha ka oras. Budlay gid,” Catalbas added.
‘No instant solution’
As households and businesses demand a more stable power supply, Mayor Treñas is pushing for expanded generation capacity to help address the recurring shortages affecting the Visayas grid.
Among the proposed measures is an integrated LNG facility that could add generation capacity and strengthen the region’s energy supply.
The mayor, however, cautioned residents that there is “no instant solution” to the power crisis.
Treñas clarified that the Manual Load Dropping (MLD) being experienced by consumers stems from orders issued by the NGCP amid regional power supply deficits.
“Ang manual load shedding nga ginapatuman sang NGCP indi direkta nga kontrolado sang Iloilo City Government,” she said.
“But we are doing everything we can to understand the situation and help find solutions,” she added.
While grid operations are outside the city government’s direct control, Treñas said the city is engaging power generators and other industry stakeholders in an effort to secure a more reliable electricity supply.
For families and small businesses enduring hours without electricity, however, the cost of the power shortage is already being counted — in spoiled merchandise, damaged appliances, lost income, sleepless nights and interrupted studies./PN
