The Energy Regulatory Commission has inspected three biomass power plants in Negros Occidental that have been offline for more than seven months, as regulators move to support efforts to strengthen power supply reliability in the Visayas.
In a statement, the ERC said its Market Operations Service inspected the facilities of North Negros BioPower, Inc., South Negros BioPower, Inc., and San Carlos BioPower, Inc. on June 16 and 17.
The three plants have a combined installed capacity of 72.51 megawatts and have been out of service since Nov. 25, 2025 due to prolonged unplanned outages.
The inspection team, led by MOS Director Sharon O. Montañer, checked the actual condition of the facilities, reviewed operational and maintenance records, examined the companies’ return-to-service plans, and met with plant management.
The ERC said the inspections were meant to assess the status of the outages, verify the companies’ projected timelines for resuming commercial operations, and identify measures needed to restore the plants in a timely manner.
The Commission stressed that “transparency, accountability, and prompt action by generation companies are critical to maintaining a stable, reliable, and secure power supply.”
The ERC said it will continue to monitor the companies’ funding initiatives, fuel procurement activities, and progress in meeting their target return-to-service schedules.
It also said generation companies will be required to submit regular updates, especially in cases where prolonged outages may affect supply conditions in the Visayas Grid.
The agency said the move forms part of its proactive regulatory oversight of power generation facilities to help ensure a stable and secure electricity supply.