As per a report in this newspaper, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas Grid under red and yellow alert status last Tuesday, May 13, due to high demand and multiple power plant outages.
NGCP said the Visayas Grid had an available capacity of 2,510 megawatts against a peak demand of 2,413 MW.
It added that 12 power plants have been on forced outage since March 2026, four since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023, and one plant since 2021. Another 15 power plants are operating on reduced maximum capacities, resulting in 862.3 MW unavailable to the grid.
As a result, there will have to be rotational brownouts in several parts of Cebu and other areas in the Visayas. Different parts of Cebu City have been experiencing this already.
NGCP said these scheduled power outages may still be cancelled should system conditions improve, particularly if actual demand falls below projections. For that to happen, they urged consumers to conserve electricity.
We understand that this is easier said than done. And this is because right now we are suffering from the heat. Just the other day, Cebu’s heat index reached 42 degrees Celsius, the highest so far this year.
That belongs in the danger category and the state weather bureau said that people out in the open may be in danger of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke.
Those at home when the day is hottest are just a bit luckier. If they prefer to use cooling appliances like electric fans and air-conditioners even longer than usual, they cannot be blamed for this. And that inevitably leads to more electric consumption.
So what’s to be done about this situation? People need to cool off in this insufferable heat, but the NGCP needs people to save all the power they can.
We don’t think there’s simple solution to this problem, or that there’s just one solution.
But what’s sure is that the solutions will have to address three things; our lack of power plants, the way we use electricity, and even things we can do to help address climate concerns. And that’s because the summer getting this hot and forcing people to use more electricity isn’t normal, but the product of a climate that’s changing for the worse.