The Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS) has declared its full support for Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s call directing the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to penalize power generation companies and industry players responsible for recurring and prolonged power outages across the Visayas Grid, particularly in Negros and Panay.
ACCESS President Wennie Sancho on Wednesday, Oct. 28, said Negros Occidental residents have suffered for months from unscheduled brownouts, voltage fluctuations, and unjust rate hikes while power firms routinely cite “forced outages” and “unplanned shutdowns” without accountability.
The Visayas power grid was again placed under Red and Yellow Alert statuses on Wednesday due to severe power supply deficiencies and thin operating reserves, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said.
The grid faces a clear supply deficit, with available generating capacity standing at 2,362 MW against a projected peak demand of 2,548 MW, it said.
The grid declaration was primarily triggered by the forced outages of Visayas’ large coal-fired power plants, the NGCP said.
NGCP said 804.3 MW was unavailable to the system on Wednesday due to a combination of 18 plants operating at derated capacities and numerous facilities suffering forced outages.
“Enough is enough. Penalties must be imposed,” Sancho said. “The DOE and ERC should not be mere announcers of brownouts. Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), the ERC has the authority to impose fines and revoke the Certificates of Compliance (COCs) of generation companies that fail to provide a reliable power supply.”
Sancho criticized the systemic disparity in power distribution, arguing that the Visayas Grid is being treated as a “second-class grid.”
“While Luzon enjoys adequate reserve buffers, we in the Visayas are left with razor-thin reserves,” Sancho stated. “This is a clear injustice to Visayan consumers who pay the same universal charges but receive inferior service.”
ACCESS advocated for direct consumer relief, demanding that any financial penalties collected from offending power firms be refunded directly to consumers through rate reductions rather than remitted to the national government’s general fund.
To address the crisis, ACCESS submitted four specific calls to action:
- Department of Energy (DOE): Publish the real-time status and forced outage history of all power plants in the Visayas, and strictly impose administrative sanctions.
- Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC): Expedite penalty enforcement under existing rules and hold a public hearing in Bacolod City to directly address consumer grievances.
- National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP): Ensure adequate power reserves and fast-track critical transmission projects to prevent repeated red and yellow alert declarations.
- Legislative Support: Stand with Senator Gatchalian and aligned legislators in prioritizing consumer welfare over corporate profits.
“Electricity is not a commodity—it is a social service and a fundamental right,” Sancho said,*
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