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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 manufacturers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The business sector cannot build a more competitive Cebu economy on an unreliable power supply,” Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Regan King said.
The chamber has urged government agencies, regulators, utilities and power producers to coordinate investments across the electricity supply chain, saying businesses and workers should not bear the costs of weaknesses in a system they did not design.
“MSMEs and the workers and families who depend on them cannot afford to simply absorb the cost of a problem they did not create,” King said.
The concerns loomed large as supply conditions in the Visayas further tightened.
On Sept. 15, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas grid under red and yellow alerts after available capacity fell 140 megawatts (MW) below projected peak demand.
NGCP reported 2,352 MW of available capacity against peak demand of 2,492 MW. A red alert was issued from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with yellow alerts from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The grid operator said the shortfall was caused by the unavailability of major coal-fired plants TVI 1, TVI 2 and PEDC 3, together with limited electricity imports from Mindanao.
Twelve power plants were on forced outage, and another 15 were operating at reduced capacity, leaving 962.9 MW of capacity unavailable.
The situation had improved from Monday, when available capacity stood at 2,153 MW against peak demand of 2,462 MW, producing a 309-MW shortfall.
The alerts illustrate the gap between having generating capacity on paper and having enough dependable electricity available when demand peaks. Plant outages, reduced output and constraints on electricity imports can rapidly narrow the supply margin.
Cost And Reliability
Businesses are also watching electricity prices. The Philippines recorded an average electricity rate of ₱12.43 per kilowatt-hour in June, the highest in Southeast Asia based on figures cited in the report.
Unpredictable electricity costs can make it harder to manage production expenses and operating margins, particularly for businesses that compete with companies in areas with cheaper or more reliable power.
An unreliable grid can create additional costs when companies have to suspend operations or use backup generators. For factories, interruptions can result in lost production, idle workers, and delayed deliveries. Retail and service businesses can also lose sales during outages.
Investment is already taking place across the Visayas power system, but the challenge is ensuring that different parts of the infrastructure develop together.
AboitizPower has installed a 60-MW battery energy storage system in Naga City, Cebu, while Meralco PowerGen Corp. has energized the first phase of its Toledo battery storage project.
The region also has 2,179.47 MW of committed renewable energy capacity, according to Department of Energy data as of May, cited by the Philippine Information Agency. The figure covers biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind projects.
Committed energy-storage capacity stood at 419.9 MW.
Transmission infrastructure is also being expanded. NGCP is developing the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu 230-kilovolt transmission line and Lapu-Lapu substation to support rising demand in Metro Cebu and Mactan Island and accommodate additional renewable generation.
The combination of renewable energy, storage and transmission investment could make the system more flexible, but the recent supply constraints highlight the continuing need for dependable generation and sufficient reserve capacity.
Distribution Issues
The debate is also extending to the distribution side of the electricity system, particularly the charges associated with system losses.
Proposals to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act would remove system-loss charges from consumer bills. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has said consumer protection must be balanced with the reliability and long-term sustainability of the power sector.
The Department of Energy has formed a task force with the Energy Regulatory Commission, National Electrification Administration and electric cooperatives to examine the possible removal of system-loss charges and the corresponding value-added tax.
Changing who pays for system losses, however, would not eliminate the physical losses that occur as electricity moves through transmission and distribution networks.
Reducing those losses would require investments in lines, substations, transformers, metering and network management.
Lower charges on electricity bills could provide financial relief, but they would not by themselves address interruptions or shortages. The long-term challenge is therefore to build an electricity system in which generation, storage, transmission and distribution capacity expand alongside demand.
As the Visayas economy grows, the pressure on policymakers and industry will increasingly be measured by whether electricity is available when businesses need it and whether its cost can be reasonably anticipated.
The reliability of the power system has become an economic concern for Cebu, one that reaches beyond the electricity industry into investment, productivity, and jobs.
Source:
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/amp/story/cebu/visayas-power-gaps-test-energy-transition
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2026/09/15/visayas-on-power-red-alert-again