A 49-hour power outage plunged Malay, home to Boracay, and the neighboring municipality of Buruanga into darkness, highlighting the vulnerability of the country’s premier tourist hotspot to energy disruptions.
According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Malay has a population of 64,723, while Buruanga has 19,878 residents.
The blackout began on September 13, after damaged 69-kilovolt (kV) underground sub-transmission cables near Caticlan Airport triggered the shutdown of Boracay’s main circuits.
Emergency teams from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO) scrambled to restore supply, erecting almost 20 poles and setting up an 800-meter bypass line along the airport’s beachfront.
With clearance from aviation authorities, partial power was restored by late September 14, but the fix proved unstable as high tide later displaced one of the makeshift poles. After 49 hours, the Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed that power had finally been restored.
It was not the first time Boracay endured a lengthy blackout this year. In early May, the island and nearby towns lost power for more than 18 hours, sparking a flood of complaints online as residents and tourists grappled with the heat.
That outage was eventually traced to a snapped jumper wire along the Nabas–Unidos–Caticlan line, which tripped shortly before 10 p.m.. DOE officials said permanent repairs to the island’s underground cables would be carried out to strengthen reliability.
Boracay has no power plants of its own and relies entirely on electricity carried through a submarine cable from the mainland, according to the DOE. This dependence leaves the island highly vulnerable whenever transmission lines are disrupted.
(Also read: Siquijor Blackout Probe Ends with SIPCOR Shutdown)
AKELCO’s capacity under the spotlight
Founded in 1972, AKELCO serves all of Aklan’s 17 towns, along with parts of Antique and Capiz. It took over from smaller utilities in the 1970s and later expanded transmission lines to reach remote areas. It was recently granted a 25-year franchise to continue managing power distribution in its service area.
However, with recent outages, some critics are questioning AKELCO’s ability to reliably distribute power. Manila Standard columnist Ray S. Eñano noted that generating electricity is only half the challenge, and the other lies in ensuring it is delivered through a dependable distribution network to homes and businesses.
“The transmission network is there to assure a reliable electricity supply for residents, businesses, and the tourism industry,” he wrote. “Authorities must assure that it will not occur again, especially in famous tourist spots like Boracay Island.
Meanwhile, Manila Times columnist Ben Kritz pointed to AKELCO’s long-standing problems, writing that its “poor condition of the transmission lines… has been a thorn in the side of businesses, residents and visitors on Boracay for close to 20 years.”
The September outage, he noted, began when underground cables suffered water intrusion, damage AKELCO itself described as “irreparable.” These lines, owned by the cooperative, transmit power from NGCP’s Nabas–Unidos line through a subsea cable to Boracay. “So, the simple explanation for why this happened is that it is Akelco’s fault,” Kritz concluded bluntly.
He further highlighted that NGCP’s stopgap fix, an 800-meter bypass line, was costly and complex, requiring Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) approval since it ran alongside Caticlan Airport’s runway. Such disruption and expense could have been avoided with routine maintenance.
DOE Secretary Sharon Garin explained that the long-term fix to Boracay’s recurring blackouts lies in completing NGCP’s long-delayed Nabas–Caticlan–Boracay 138-kV transmission line, alongside repairs to AKELCO’s damaged underground cables.
The Nabas–Caticlan–Boracay transmission line has faced four years of delays. NGCP initially targeted completion in March 2021, then moved the deadline to 2024. Under an Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) directive, the project was expected to finish by May 2025, but as of September 2025, it remains incomplete.
Philippine taxpayers continue to fund billions in subsidies for rural electric cooperatives, with ₱3.6 billion released in 2025 for electrification and line repairs, and over ₱5 billion more in the national budget. These grants are not repaid, only liquidated, yet the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged ₱992 million in unliquidated balances as of 2023.
A separate study also found that cooperatives in Panay and Guimaras spent just ₱2.38 billion of a ₱10.52 billion allocation from 2022 to late 2024, with barely 3% invested in infrastructure such as expansion, line upgrades, and network strengthening, while the vast bulk went to maintenance or minor works.
This means cooperatives are not investing sufficiently in expanding or upgrading their capacity. In AKELCO’s case, even maintenance-heavy spending wasn’t enough to prevent widespread outages, showing that lack of infrastructure investment is a serious vulnerability in the grid.
“Many electric cooperatives (ECs) or distribution utilities are undercapitalized,” wrote Eñano. “Poor finances and mismanagement lead to chronic brownouts, especially in the provinces.”
He also criticized ECS for their sluggish response after typhoons, calling it “inexcusable”, urging ECs to be held accountable and penalized for the lapse.
Additionally, Kritz reported that National Electrification Administration (NEA) compliance data rated AKELCO as a “yellow” cooperative at the end of last year, signaling failure to meet at least one key performance standard. Its working capital requirement stood at ₱334.6 million, but actual funds reached only ₱333.1 million—leaving a shortfall of about ₱1.5 million each month.
Performance metrics worsened the problem. Akelco recorded a System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) of 17.99, meaning customers experienced nearly 18 major outages in a year, and a System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) of 1,025.81 minutes, or about 17 hours in total. Both are within NEA limits, but still translate to power cuts roughly every 20 days, lasting about an hour each.
“Akelco should be given a choice: Either sell out completely to a distribution utility with a proven track record,” Kritz wrote. “It is too costly and damaging to the national brand to let this situation continue for the sake of some misguided notions about the sanctity of electric co-ops and franchises.”
(Also read: NGCP’s Transmission Fee Hikes: Are They Justified?)
Endangering the economy
Boracay, celebrated for its world-class white sands, drew over two million visitors in 2024, making it a vital economic engine for its province, where opportunities are otherwise limited. Kritz stressed that ensuring reliable electricity is “a matter of national importance, and not left to the management of a cooperative that can only be generously described as mediocre.”
According to the Center for Energy Research and Policy (CERP), the Philippines’ tourism sector generated ₱3.86 trillion in 2024, or 8.9% of GDP, and employed nearly 14% of the workforce.
The think tank urged a reliable electricity supply to safeguard the country’s tourist hubs, pointing to the severe economic losses caused by recent blackouts in key destinations. It cited the 14-day power outage in Siargao in December 2024, hitting nine municipalities, including the surfing hub of General Luna. The blackout, caused by a submarine cable failure, cost an estimated ₱1.09 billion, with enterprises facing daily losses of ₱10,000 to ₱30,000.
CERP’s lead economist, Yla Paras, stressed that energy disruptions create wide-ranging effects on tourism, hitting both direct operations and the broader economy. “The tourism industry can only function and thrive with a stable and sufficient electricity supply,” she said.
The review outlined major hurdles, particularly the limited technical expertise in many local governments, which tend to respond to tourism issues as they arise instead of planning.
“Insufficient power supply across the Philippines and the high cost of acquiring electricity are critical issues that prevent the country from achieving an inclusive economy,” wrote Eñano.
Amid these national concerns, Boracay remains a focal point, where reliable power is especially critical. As one of the country’s top tourist destinations, even brief disruptions can ripple through local businesses, hotels, and transport services, threatening both livelihoods and the island’s reputation as a world-class destination.
Sources:
https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/09/16/opinion/columns/akelco-strikes-again/2184367
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/09/16/2473123/power-back-boracay-after-2-days
https://www.akelco.com.ph/about-us.html
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/GAA/GAA2025/VolumeIB/BSGC/B.pdf
https://dailyguardian.com.ph/panay-power-grid-at-risk-due-to-underinvestment-by-electric-coopsys