The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has warned the public to brace for possible brownouts in the remaining weeks of May, citing the high probability of yellow and red alert conditions across the country’s major power grids.
When asked whether Filipinos should expect alert conditions in the remaining weeks of May, NGCP spokesperson Atty. Cynthia Alabanza said the probability is high. “Malaki ho talaga ang posibilidad sa panahon ng tag-init,” she said during an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on May 16.
Alabanza said alert conditions during summer are driven by two compounding factors: rising electricity consumption as more Filipinos turn to electric fans and air conditioners, and the increased strain on power plant machinery caused by high ambient temperatures.
“Mainit ang panahon kaya maraming gumagamit, malakas ang takbo nung mga turbina, at mas susceptible po sila sa breakdown,” she said.
She noted that in the last eight to ten years, alert conditions have consistently been caused not by scheduled maintenance but by sudden, unplanned plant outages. “Ang mga alert status ay dala ng unplanned maintenance schedule o ‘yung biglaang pagtirik,” Alabanza said.
When a plant unexpectedly trips, the grid’s operating reserve — a buffer supply equivalent to 4% of total consumption — is rapidly depleted, pushing the system from yellow alert toward red alert and eventually toward power interruptions.
The warning comes after both the Luzon and Visayas grids experienced alert conditions earlier this week. Alabanza confirmed that Visayas was already under yellow alert before Luzon entered red alert status last Wednesday and Thursday.
Alabanza pointed to Mindanao as a cautionary example, recalling the prolonged daily brownouts the region experienced around 2011 and 2012 before new power plants were built. She said Mindanao’s reserve margin is once again thinning and will require new plant construction to avoid a return to that situation.
For now, no yellow or red alert has been declared for Saturday, but Alabanza said the public should not take the day’s stability as a guarantee for the days ahead. “Hindi ho tayo makasigurado na hindi ‘to mauulit ulit,” she said.
She urged Filipinos to conserve electricity, saying that reduced consumption not only helps stabilize grid supply but also lowers household power bills.
