More outages possible amid insufficient power supply
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) warned on Thursday that power supply and operating reserves remain insufficient and may continue to result in electricity outages similar to Wednesday evening when almost a million homes were left powerless amid the sweltering heat.
The grid operator explained that a red alert status is issued when “power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement” while a yellow alert indicates “operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.”
The NGCP again raised red and yellow alerts on Thursday as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned of dangerous heat index levels on May 13 with Quezon City’s Science Garden recording 42 degrees Celsius and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City logging 43 C.
Rising temperatures
Recent records record the heat index peaking of 44 C in locations such as Laoag City, Dagupan City, Roxas City and Dumangas on May 8 to May 9.
Pagasa defines dangerous heat indexes as ranging from 42 C to 51 C. Prolonged exposure to these levels poses serious health risks, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and potentially life-threatening heat stroke.
Such indexes are not unusual for the Philippines where the highest actual temperature was recorded at 42.2°C in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, on both April 22, 1912 and May 11, 1969.
The aggravating circumstance is the status of power plants which have been running under capacity for several years now despite continued increases in power rates.
The NGCP reported on Thursday that the Luzon grid recorded an available capacity of 12,479 megawatts (MW) against a peak demand of 12,595 MW.
It said that 17 plants are on forced outage since March, three since 2025, two since 2024, and one plant out since 2019; while 14 plants are running on derated capacities.
These outages and reduced capacities resulted in a total of 4,242.5 MW unavailable to the Luzon grid.
On the other hand, the Visayas grid was also placed under red alert from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with yellow alert raised from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The Visayas grid posted an available capacity of 2,413 MW, lower than the projected peak demand of 2,541 MW.
According to the NGCP, “11 plants are on forced outage since March 2026, four since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023, and one plant out since 2021; while 12 are running on derated capacities, for a total of 866.7 MW unavailable to the grid.”
