Manila: The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has been ordered to submit a full accounting of the power supply disruptions that have affected the Luzon and the Visayas grids since Tuesday. In separate statements on Thursday, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said the directive aims to address the incidents that have disrupted electricity supply and affected millions of consumers.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DOE is focused on ensuring stable power supply, protecting consumers, and enforcing accountability across the power sector. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin emphasized the need for a transparent account of the incidents that led to the grid alerts, requiring NGCP to comply fully with all reportorial and regulatory obligations. The DOE's technical teams are independently verifying the status of affected generating units and transmission facilities to determine compliance with dispatch instructions and restoration timelines during the alert period.

The DOE will continue to monitor grid conditions in both Luzon and Visayas, assessing residual supply risks and coordinating 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. ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino Juan visited the System Operations Command Center to personally verify the condition of the country's transmission grid, ensuring that the commission's actions are based on verified information.

On Thursday, the Luzon grid was placed under red alert status from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to insufficient capacity to meet consumer demand and maintain the transmission grid's regulating requirements. Available capacity in the Luzon grid was estimated at 12,464 megawatts (MW), lower than the projected peak demand of 12,877 MW. The Visayas grid was also placed under red alert status from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., largely due to the forced outages of several generating units from various power plants, with available capacity standing at 2,377 MW against a peak demand of 2,552 MW.