Cebu’s business community is calling for a stronger and more coordinated electricity system across the Visayas, warning that unreliable supply and unpredictable power costs could undermine the region’s ability to attract investment and sustain economic growth. Interruptions and volatile costs can disrupt operations, squeeze margins, and make long-term investment decisions more difficult for businesses, particularly […]
Wholesale electricity prices in the Visayas and Mindanao could fall by more than half from August levels after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered the secondary price cap in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to be applied separately to each grid. The ERC said the regional implementation, retroactive to the August 2026 billing period, […]
Twenty-nine electric cooperatives in Luzon and the Visayas have secured 15-year power supply agreements covering a combined 565.5 megawatts (MW) of baseload capacity, a move aimed at strengthening electricity reliability for households and businesses in their service areas. The agreements were finalized through a joint competitive selection process facilitated by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), […]
Cebu Gov. Pamela “Pam” Baricuatro has called for an Energy Summit on Oct. 7 as persistent power shortages and longer rotational brownouts raise concerns over the province’s economic expansion plans. Baricuatro said Cebu urgently needs to address its electricity supply as the provincial government works to attract investments, expand industries and generate more jobs. “We […]
At least 20,000 electricity consumers in Iloilo City are affected each day by rotational brownouts as a worsening power supply shortage across the Visayas forces the implementation of manual load dropping, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) said. The utility sheds an average of about 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity daily through manual load […]
Power supply remained tight in the Visayas as Cebu faced another red alert on Aug. 24, raising concerns over the grid’s ability to meet evening peak demand. The warning came after a week of repeated alerts. The Visayas saw yellow alerts on most days from Aug. 16 to 24, while red alerts were raised on […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving to recommend the suspension of about 40 power generation companies to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for failing to comply with orders requiring them to explain plant outages, reduced generation, and other reliability concerns. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the government had already warned the companies and was […]
Electricity consumers in the Visayas are expected to see lower power rates after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered the suspension and correction of excessive Line Loss and Congestion Cost (LLCC) charges that were traced to a flaw in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) pricing system. “We expect to see lower power rates in […]
The Visayas entered August with its power supply still under severe strain, as fresh plant outages and limited imports from Mindanao triggered recurring yellow and red alerts. The situation peaked on August 12, when the grid was placed under red alert for the third consecutive day. Available capacity stood at 2,191 megawatts, below the forecast […]
The push to lower electricity bills has put system loss charges under the spotlight, but the issue is more complicated than simply removing a line item from consumers’ bills. System losses are an inherent part of power distribution, while the costs associated with them still have to be recovered somewhere. The Philippines has also made […]
