Luzon, Visayas Grids Return to Normal After Power Plant Recovery Eases Supply Crunch
- May 18, 2026
Table of Contents
The Luzon and Visayas power grids returned to normal operations over the weekend after several major power plants resumed full capacity, easing a supply shortage that triggered red and yellow alerts and left more than 2 million consumers without electricity earlier in the week.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said Saturday that the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids were operating under normal conditions after reserves improved following the restoration of key generating units.
Data released by NGCP showed the Luzon grid had available capacity of 15,799 megawatts (MW) against demand of 12,107 MW as of 6 a.m. Saturday. The Visayas grid posted 2,768 MW in available capacity with demand reaching 2,339 MW.
The yellow alert over the Visayas grid was lifted at 9:50 p.m. on May 16 after available capacity rose to 2,650 MW against demand of 2,353 MW. Earlier, the Luzon grid’s yellow alert was lifted at 11:38 p.m. on May 15 after supply reached 13,047 MW, exceeding demand of 12,170 MW.
A yellow alert is declared when operating reserves fall below the required contingency level, signaling a tight but manageable power situation. A red alert, meanwhile, indicates insufficient supply to meet consumer demand and may prompt rotational power interruptions to stabilize the grid.
Resumption Of Operations
NGCP attributed the improved supply conditions to the return of several large power plants that had earlier gone offline.
Among these was Unit 1 of GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) in Mariveles, Bataan, which restored 668 MW to the grid. The plant is owned by AboitizPower Corp. and is considered the country’s largest coal-fired power facility.
Also returning to service were units of the 1,275-MW Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) natural gas plant in Ilijan, Batangas City. NGCP said EERI Units 2 and 3 restored around 422 MW and 420 MW, respectively, while the facility’s three units each have a capacity of about 425 MW.
The restoration of these facilities added about 1,510 MW to Luzon’s available capacity, according to NGCP.
The transmission operator said the additional supply, combined with lower electricity demand typically seen during weekends, created surplus capacity that allowed power exports from the Luzon grid to the Visayas grid, helping stabilize supply in the region.
Outage Impact
The recovery came days after widespread outages hit several parts of the country on May 13 following simultaneous transmission line and power plant failures.
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reported that around 1.9 million customers in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal experienced rotational brownouts lasting two to three hours.
NGCP said another 200,000 consumers across the country were also affected. According to the grid operator, about 3,942.8 MW became unavailable due to forced outages at dozens of power plants, leaving reserves insufficient to meet peak demand.
The company also acknowledged that 17 power plants had already been on forced outage since the start of the month, while several other facilities had remained offline for months or even years. Another 14 plants were operating at derated capacities, resulting in a total of 4,828 MW unavailable to the Luzon grid.
Probe Ongoing
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has ordered the Grid Reliability Task Force to investigate the events that led to the May 13 outages, including the tripping of the Tayabas-Ilijan and Ilijan-Dasmariñas 500-kilovolt transmission lines operated by NGCP.
“An incident of this scale demands full technical disclosure, clear accountability and immediate corrective action,” Garin said.
The incident has also renewed scrutiny over Republic Act No. 9511, the law governing NGCP’s franchise. NGCP is a privately owned consortium composed of Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp., Calaca High Power Corp., and the State Grid Corporation of China.
The Department of Energy said it continues to coordinate with NGCP, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, the Energy Regulatory Commission, generation companies, and other industry stakeholders to ensure grid stability and protect consumers.
“Barring any unexpected increase in demand or additional unplanned outages of power facilities, the power situation for this weekend is expected to remain stable,” NGCP said.
Source:
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2230150/power-supply-back-to-normal-but-franchise-questions-remain
