The Visayas power grid is under mounting pressure as bans on coal-fired plants in Negros and Bohol leave the islands heavily reliant on imported electricity, prompting the Cebu Energy Rights Advocates to demand a rethink of local energy policies.
On September 28, 2026, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) sent out another yellow alert for the Visayas. The grid had 2,572 megawatts available. Peak demand hit 2,374 MW. Fourteen power plants were down. Fifteen more ran at lower output. Nearly a thousand megawatts vanished from the system. The biggest gaps? Coal-fired units in Panay and Cebu. These plants are the backbone of the region's baseload. NGCP named Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3, KEPCO SPC Power Corp. Unit 2, and Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1 as the main reason for repeated grid alerts. Losing these big coal blocks left the grid exposed.
The root of the problem is policy. Since 2018 and 2019, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Bohol have banned coal and diesel power plants. The goal was clean energy. The result? These islands now depend on electricity imports from Cebu, Panay, and Leyte. But those regions are also struggling with rising demand. The grid is stretched thin. Outages are more likely. In September 2026, NGCP counted 13 generating units on forced outage. Some have been offline since 2021. Sixteen more are running at reduced output because of technical or regulatory limits.
Energy dependence and the limits of renewables
Negros has over 950 MW of installed capacity. Most of it is solar. That's not much help after sunset, when demand peaks. The only steady baseload comes from the Palinpinon geothermal plants. They provide just 240 MW. Peak need is 450 MW. Bohol is in worse shape. Peak demand is over 100 MW. In-island dependable capacity is only 26 to 30 MW. The gap is filled by importing power, much of it from coal plants on other islands. The Visayas grid's submarine cables can't always handle the load. Transfers between islands are limited, especially when demand is high or several plants are down.
Nathaniel Chua, convenor of Cebu Energy Rights Advocates (Cera), put it plainly: "Demand for power is shared by one Visayas grid; therefore, the responsibility for the burden of baseload supply must also be shared." Leyte and Samar are starting to keep more of their geothermal power for their own growth. That will squeeze Negros and Bohol even harder. Reserve margins are thin. On September 24, 2026, NGCP raised the alert to red for five hours. Yellow alerts surrounded the peak. The same three coal plants were still offline. The grid was on edge.
NGCP ha segnalato che la causa immediata delle ripetute allerte sulla rete Visayas è la non disponibilità di tre grandi unità a carbone: Panay Energy Development Corp. Unit 3, KEPCO SPC Power Corp. Unit 2 e Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1, evidenziando la dipendenza strutturale della rete da questi impianti per la fornitura di energia di base.
Grid pressure and local policy choices
Panay's peak demand is set to reach 600 MW by late 2026. In-island supply is only 500 MW. Cebu's peak demand has already passed 1,000 MW. Its own generation is stuck at 700 MW. Both islands are now planning new coal projects. Leyte and Samar are the only Visayas areas with a real surplus-700 MW of mostly geothermal power against a 310 MW peak. But that surplus is shrinking as local demand rises. The problem isn't just generation. Transmission is a bottleneck. NGCP has warned that limited inter-island transfer and restricted imports from Mindanao make it hard to balance supply and demand when it matters most.
Cera says the Visayas can't just count on imports from Luzon or Mindanao during crunch time. Submarine cables and transmission lines have limits. Local governments need to face the grid's physical constraints when making energy policy. They can't assume the rest of the region will always cover their baseload. Italian energy regulators like AGCOM have also stressed the need for grid resilience and reserve margins in their own rules. Strong local generation is key for digital infrastructure and economic growth.
The coal dilemma and grid sustainability
Chua's point is simple. Unless Negros expands geothermal at Palinpinon, the only real medium-term fix is to reconsider coal for baseload. The other option-keep relying on imports-could push the Visayas grid into another crisis. Transmission lines are already strained. Local generation can't keep up with economic growth. Technical data from September 2026 shows dozens of yellow and red alerts since January. The problem is clear. There aren't enough big baseload plants or reserves.
The evidence is piling up. Bans on coal, without strong alternatives, have left Negros and Bohol open to the very risks they wanted to avoid. The Visayas grid is close to the edge. Policy idealism has run out of road. Local governments now face a hard truth. Without steady, round-the-clock generation, clean energy promises fall apart. Blackouts and economic trouble follow. The region's future depends on practical choices. Not wishful thinking.
