The Department of Energy (DOE) has assured the public of stable power supply during the summer months and the May midterm elections.
However, DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan said the agency would not remove the possibility of raising yellow and red alerts in case of lean power supply. He hastened to add such alerts would not automatically lead to power service interruptions.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low while red alerts are declared when actual power supply against demand is insufficient and power interruptions are imminent.
“Currently, power supply is sufficient and we are not expecting to have deficiencies in serving our power needs. DOE continues its simulations to address several situations, especially since the summer season has officially started,” Marasigan said during the Bagong Pilipinas public forum on Wednesday, April 2.
The DOE has been working with energy stakeholders to put in place interventions such as the interruptible load program (ILP) as well as the provision of solar powered lamps or power generator units.
Under ILP, customers with large electricity consumption are encouraged to run their own generator sets whenever supply of electricity in the grid is short in exchange for monetary incentives.
However, the fuel that they will use in running their own power source are shouldered by power consumers.
Marasigan added that because of lessons learned from 2024, the DOE has included heat index forecasts from the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, instead of relying only on peak demand forecasts in doing the country’s supply and demand scenarios.
He also said that an election task force has been activated and has met with the Commission on Elections to ensure stable power supply in areas and facilities crucial to the holding of orderly elections.
“All stakeholders were already alerted. Power plants are also not allowed to have their repair and maintenance program at least one week before or after the elections. All power plants are also mandated to provide their maximum output. Transmission and distribution sectors were also asked to check their lines as early as now to know if there are needed repairs,” Marasigan further said.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said that as of March 10, 2025, the highest peak demand for this year was recorded on March 6, 2025, at 12,467 megawatts (MW), which was 5 percent more compared to the DOE-approved grid operating program forecast demand of 11,870 MW for that day.
