The Department of Energy (DOE) has acknowledged planning lapses that contributed to a long-standing shortage of new baseload generation capacity in the Visayas grid, which continues to trigger recurring red and yellow alerts and widespread power outages.
Speaking at a House of Representatives inquiry held in Bacolod City on Saturday, October 3, 2026, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin confirmed that long-term grid planning failed to keep pace with rapid demand growth.
“There hasn’t been a new baseload capacity in Visayas for a long time. I guess I would say it’s the planning side,” Garin told lawmakers. “We formed teams last year to conduct simulations covering the next 10 years, which is why we are holding auctions. We really need to plan because without planning, there is nothing to execute.”
Garin explained that baseload power, continuous 24/7 electricity generated by coal, geothermal and natural gas plants, remains insufficient, particularly in high-growth areas like Cebu. While provinces like Negros produce surplus solar energy during daylight hours, generation drops significantly in the evening when grid demand reaches its peak.
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio criticized the agency’s oversight, characterizing the supply deficit as a clear government failure in long-range forecasting.
“Obviously, this is a failure in planning,” Tinio said. “Sabi nyo kanina, three years ang kailangan. Dapat na-project ito noon pa, pero di nagawa. Kulang ang baseload kaya ito tayo ngayon.”
The DOE warned that power tight-supply conditions could persist even if planned grid interventions are completed by 2027, projecting a best-case scenario of at least one red alert and 19 yellow alerts.
Garin noted that recent red alerts were exacerbated by forced outages across six regional power plants, compounded by supply breakdowns at two facilities in Mindanao. While the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has mitigated localized deficits through high-voltage undersea interconnections carrying surplus power from Luzon, total regional capacity remains vulnerable.
During the hearing, lawmakers also questioned whether the framework governing the Visayas ancillary services, or reserve power, requires immediate policy revision. Garin agreed, noting that reserve rules designed for continuous landmasses like Luzon and Mindanao do not function effectively across the Visayas archipelagic structure.
“There is a provision for ancillary services, or our reserves, but it works in Luzon and Mindanao. The Visayas is different because it is an island,” Garin explained. “So even when you say, yes, we have 150 ancillary there or reserve, pero each island has a different personality, so the whole system of ancillary will not work properly in Visayas, I would say.”
Garin added that the DOE is actively working to eliminate the temporary practice of permitting primary power generation plants to serve simultaneously as ancillary service providers. To address the immediate energy deficit during evening peak hours, the DOE is fast-tracking the deployment of solar power generation paired with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to capture excess daytime solar output and discharge it into the grid at night.