LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu, Philippines: The Regional Development Council (RDC) is seeking a State of Power Emergency declaration in Central Visayas as the region continues to face tight electricity supply and recurring rotational blackouts.
(Central Visayas is the central section of the Visayas island group in the Philippines, positioned between the major islands of Luzon to the north and Mindanao to the south.)
The council wants the Office of the President to declare the emergency upon the recommendation of the Department of Energy.
It said the declaration could allow authorities to act more quickly on immediate measures to ease the power shortage while speeding up projects that would add or improve electricity supply.
These include new and expanded power plants, as well as priority transmission and substation projects of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The appeal was made during the RDC-7 3rd Quarter Full Council Meeting held on September 30 and chaired by Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, according to the Provincial Information Office.
Cebu prepares backup power measures
While seeking action from the national government, Cebu is also working on measures that could provide backup electricity when supply disruptions occur.
One option being offered by the Cebu Provincial Government is the installation of solar panels at barangay centres, which barangay officials may avail of through the province’s menu of services.
The Cebu Provincial Board had earlier asked power distributors and electric cooperatives to prepare measures that could lessen the impact of limited electricity supply on consumers.
First District Board Members Antonio Bacaltos Jr. and Lakambini Reluya sponsored the resolution, which the board approved during its regular session on September 14, 2026.
The measure calls for efforts to reduce how often rotational blackouts happen and shorten the time that consumers are left without electricity.
It also seeks to ensure that essential facilities such as hospitals, water pumping stations and emergency services are prioritised when power supply is disrupted.
Power providers are further being asked to identify other sources of electricity that could be used during shortages and to improve public advisories when grid conditions become unstable.
The utilities and electric cooperatives were also told to submit their contingency plans to the Office of the Governor before the Cebu Energy Summit on Oct. 7, 2026.
The summit is expected to bring together government officials, energy companies, business groups and investors to discuss the region’s immediate power needs and longer-term energy plans.
Blackouts linked to tight Visayas supply
The measures come after the Visayas grid recorded several yellow and red alerts in recent months, as some generating units went offline and the region received limited electricity from the Mindanao Grid.
The supply situation contributed to rotational blackouts in parts of Cebu, with some power plants unavailable or generating less electricity than their full capacity.
Major facilities affected included plants operated by Therma Visayas Inc. and Panay Energy Development Corporation.
At a September 30 news forum, NGCP Senior Supervisor for Network Operations–Visayas System Operations Engr. Amado Otarra III said all baseload power plants in the Visayas had already returned to operation.
Otarra said a 150-megawatt plant in Panay Island was the only remaining offline facility in the Visayas grid and was expected to resume operations by November 9.
Despite the improved availability of generating units, NGCP’s latest outlook showed that the Visayas still had a relatively small buffer between available supply and expected electricity use.
For Sunday, October 4, the Visayas had 2,607 megawatts (MW) of available generating capacity against a projected peak demand of 2,361 MW.
This left the grid with an operating margin of 246 MW, based on information available as of 10 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2026. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
