ILOILO City – The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) assured lawmakers that measures are in place to prevent a recurrence of the widespread power outage that crippled Panay Island in January 2024.
Addressing the House Committee on Legislative Franchises during a December 23 hearing, NGCP emphasized that power supply and contingency plans are now robust.
However, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), the electricity distribution utility in Iloilo City, raised concerns regarding the delay in the commissioning of NGCP’s 3×100 MegaVolt Ampere substation, which is under construction in Iloilo City. The substation was initially promised to be completed before the end of 2025.
MORE Power president and chief executive officer Roel Castro highlighted the significant impact of 162 unscheduled power interruptions in 2024 alone, totaling 811 hours of outages attributed to NGCP, affecting their operations and consumers.
The recent congressional hearing, which centered on utilities’ readiness for the potential challenges of the La Niña phenomenon in 2025, highlighted the lingering apprehensions.
Cong. Dan Fernandez of Laguna’s 1st District questioned NGCP’s capacity to maintain sufficient ancillary reserves for Panay Island, pointing out the severe economic toll of the past blackout. The discussion centered on the need for more comprehensive solutions to ensure grid reliability.
“Atty. Cynthia (Alabanza) mag-ja-January na ha. Baka mamaya mag-outage na naman. Todas na naman tayo diyan,” Fernandez stated.
In response, Atty. Cynthia Alabanza, NGCP’s Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications, explained that they have completed the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for ancillary reserves in Visayas, which ensures sufficient power even during peak demand.
“Yung requirement po ng NGCP na mangontrata ng firm contract under the CSP, tapos na po yan. At yung iba po bibilhin natin sa merkado,” Alabanza explained.
However, Fernandez sought stronger assurances, emphasizing the need for contingency and dispatchable reserves in all regions.
“If we have reserves in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, there is no reason why we shouldn’t have reserves for the coming January. You’ve stated that we’ve met the ancillary service requirements so that I will take your word for it. At least we have ancillary services, regulating reserves, contingency reserves, and dispatchable reserves across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” Fernandez asserted.
As to the delayed the commissioning of NGCP’s 3×100 MegaVolt Ampere substation in Iloilo City, MORE Power’s Castro said: “To note, with the latest information we got, it’s just the 1×100 MVA to be finished in 2025. We are alarmed by the delay of this project. The number of outages that we’ve been having of 162 outages in one year alone is something very alarming,”
NGCP explained that the project delay is due to access issues with the site where the substation will be located.
“The project is now scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. We had to negotiate access to the site with one of the power plants, which caused a delay. However, the issue has been resolved, and we aim for a completion date in the second quarter of next year,” Atty. Alabanza clarified.
Castro reiterated his appeal for the completion of the project to include the full 3×100 MVA capacity as originally agreed, highlighting the need to cater to the significant growth of Iloilo City and Panay Island, particularly in terms of investment and power demand.
Department of Energy’s Undersecretary Sharon Garin emphasized the importance of the said NGCP facilities by stating that Iloilo’s demand growth is 13% and more than 6% for the country.
With this growth, Legislative Franchise Committee Chairman Gus Tambunting noted that NGCP needs to catch up in Iloilo and the country./PN
