While the entire Philippines was riveted to the unfolding drama inside the Senate last Wednesday, most residents of Laguna province were left in the dark on the issue – literally and figuratively.
The reason: an unexpected series of power interruptions that threatens to derail an economy already reeling from the effects of runaway inflation, an ongoing war in the Middle East that has caused bottleneck in the global supply chain, and political instabilities caused by the looming impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte and the (aborted) arrest attempt against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Red alert
The crisis started last Wednesday, May 13, when the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) raised the Luzon and Visayas grids on “red alert status” from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on that day.
The red alert status was also raised on May 14 to 15.
A red alert is declared when power demand exceeds the capacity to meet regulating requirements.
Peak demand in Luzon during that day was projected at 12,537 megawatts (MW), exceeding the available capacity of 12,447 MW.
By the afternoon of May 13, NGCP was forced to implement Manual Load Dropping (MLD) in several areas in Luzon “to maintain the integrity of the power system.”
In manual load dropping, the NGCP may implement a temporary power interruption in parts of the grid to prevent a total system collapse when electricity demand exceeds available supply.
As a result, Metro Manila, Laguna province and other provinces in Luzon and Visayas experienced rotational brownouts later that evening. (Coincidentally, some consumers in San Pedro City reported power going out just as shots were heard inside the Senate building at around 8:00 p.m.)
According to the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the main power distributor for Laguna province, more than 920,000 of its customers were affected by the rotational brownouts last May 13.
This included almost the entire service area of Meralco in Laguna province, which included the cities of Biñan, Cabuyao, Calamba, San Pedro, Santa Rosa and San Pablo.
Also affected are parts of eastern Laguna, which is served by the First Laguna Electric Cooperative (FLECO).
The power interruptions have created a domino effect on other utilities, with both PrimeWater San Pedro and Laguna Water announcing that the rotational brownouts may also cause interruptions in their water supply.
Although Laguna Water has reassured its customers that it is prepared for the crisis (by installing generator sets inside their facilities), residents were still advised to stock up on water supplies for use in case the power cuts out.
What happened?
Even amidst the tensions in the Senate, one key question among the minds of Lagunenses right now is: What exactly went wrong with our energy sector that we are thrown back into the nightmare of rotational brownouts in the late 1980’s?
According to both NGCP and the Department of Energy (DOE), unexpected shutdowns and “power trips” affecting the grid have reduced the available energy resources for the Luzon grid.
In a statement, DOE said the 500-kilovolt (kV) Tayabas-Ilijan and Dasmariñas-Ilijan transmission lines tripped at around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, “causing the disconnection to the grid of the Ilijan 1 & 2 (1,200 MW) and Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. (EERI) Units 1, 2, & 3 (1,262.1 MW).”
Masinloc Unit 3 (325 MW) also went on forced outage at around 6:34 a.m. that day.
Meanwhile, NGCP reported on May 14 that “11 plants are on forced outage since March 2026, 4 since 2025, 2 since 2024, 2 since 2023, and 1 plant out since 2021; while 12 are running on derated capacities, for a total of 866.7MW unavailable to the grid.”
A lot of explanations to do
Both DOE and ERC have ordered the NGCP to submit a full accounting of the recent power supply disruptions.
“The public deserves a full and transparent accounting of the incidents that led to these grid alerts, and we are requiring NGCP to comply fully with all reportorial and regulatory obligations,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin was quoted as saying in a press statement issued Thursday, May 14.
The DOE said its technical teams are independently verifying the status of affected generating units and transmission facilities to determine whether NGCP and concerned generation companies complied with dispatch instructions and restoration timelines during the alert period.
“The DOE will continue to closely monitor grid conditions in both Luzon and Visayas, assess residual supply risks, and coordinate with NGCP, the ERC, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), distribution utilities, and all concerned generation companies to ensure the full restoration of supply adequacy,” the agency said.
ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino Juan also said consumers deserve “a clear and comprehensive account” of the incidents behind the alert declarations.
No maintenance allowed?
However, a consumer’s advocacy group charged that incompetence among DOE and ERC officials led to a situation where power plants and other facilities all shut down or “tripped” at the same time, leading to a massive loss in power supply.
In a message to OpinYon Laguna, the Institute for Consumer Research and Empowerment (ICORE) said that the simultaneous breakdown of power generating plants would never have happened had officials allowed them to temporarily shut down for maintenance works.
“Ang nangyari dito, hindi pinayagan ng DOE at ERC ang mga nagpapatakbo ng mga power plant at iba pang mga pasilidad na magsagawa ng maintenance works. No doubt this is because of fears that these maintenance works will result in decreased power supply at a time when it is most needed,” ICORE pointed out.
But what happened, the group asserted, was the opposite.
The lack of maintenance caused power plants to fail and grid facilities to “trip,” resulting in precisely what government regulators wanted to avoid: a massive loss of power supply.
“Officials not just at the NGCP but also the DOE and ERC have a lot to explain to the Filipino public. Their incompetence and short-sightedness had exacerbated an already worsening economic situation in our country and caused hardship for our people,” ICORE added.
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