ILOILO – Panay Island’s strained power supply is expected to gradually return to normal before the end of 2026 as several generating plants in the Visayas prepare to resume operations following maintenance and prolonged outages, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said.
Some power plants could begin returning to service as early as September, potentially easing the recurring yellow and red alerts that have led to manual load dropping, particularly during afternoon and evening peak hours.
A yellow alert is declared when the grid’s operating margin is insufficient to meet its contingency requirement.
A red alert means electricity supply is insufficient to meet demand, raising the risk of rotational brownouts unless consumption is curtailed.
The Department of Energy (DOE), through Visayas Field Office director Renante Sevilla, gave the assurance during a recent online meeting with Defensor and Aklan’s Gov. Jose Enrique Miraflores on the prevailing power situation in the Visayas Grid.
Defensor said they sought an explanation from the DOE regarding the frequent grid alerts affecting Panay Island, including Iloilo province.
“Ang nagakalatabo subong ngaa ara kita pirme sa yellow alert and red alert kay madamo sang generation plants wala naga-andar. Iban sa mga planta nga ini dugay na nga wala naga-andar, ginakay-o ini sila, iban may scheduled nga mag-untat kay kay-uhon pero may schedule man sila kun san-o matapos. Ginplastar ini sa aton sang DOE,” Defensor said.
Some generating plants have taken longer to return to service because replacement parts still have to be purchased abroad, he added.
The shutdowns have reduced the electricity available to Panay through the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), forcing the Visayas to draw additional supply from Luzon and Mindanao.
However, outages among power plants in Mindanao have also limited the electricity that could be transferred to the Visayas, contributing to the declaration of red alerts.
Defensor said the plants undergoing repairs and scheduled maintenance are expected to resume operations at different times within the quarter.
“Gin-usisa naton sa DOE kon san-o magabalik ining mga planta kag makay-o na sila. Siling nila sini mga mga binulan. Ang ila schedule wala nagadungan pero ang siling sa aton nga sini nga quarter,” he said.
NGCP placed the Visayas Grid under yellow alert from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 23, as its available capacity stood at 2,516 megawatts against a peak demand of 2,292 MW.
A total of 901.9 MW was unavailable to the grid, with numerous plants on forced outage and nine others operating at derated capacities.
Eight generating plants went on forced outage in August, one in July, three in June, seven in May, one in March, three in 2025, two in 2024, two in 2023 and one as early as 2021.
NGCP cited the unavailability of the Visayas’ large coal-fired plants, TVI Units 1 and 2, and the emergency shutdown of KSPC Unit 1 at 9:42 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, due to a suspected boiler tube leak.
Defensor said the longer-term solution is to expand power-generation capacity within Panay so the island will be less vulnerable when plants elsewhere in the Visayas shut down.
He identified the expansion of existing coal and diesel plants as the fastest viable option.
“Hapos nga dugangan kay ara na daan kaysa mag-develop ka sang renewable, kapin pa waay kita sang natural gas and wind sa Iloilo,” Defensor said.
The region, including Iloilo province, is also pursuing renewable energy, particularly solar power, although its present capacity remains limited./PN