Philippines at the power limit: Visayas grid back on red alert as rotating outages hit

Electricity supply across the central Philippines remains under severe pressure. On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) again placed the Visayas grid under red alert. The highest alert level was scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, with yellow alerts from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

NGCP reported 2,481 megawatts of available capacity against a projected peak demand of exactly 2,481 MW. That left effectively no meaningful reserve. A red alert is declared when available supply is insufficient to cover both consumer demand and the transmission grid's required regulating reserve. Under those conditions, distribution utilities may temporarily disconnect selected areas to protect the wider grid from a more serious failure.

Several problems are occurring at the same time. The large Therma Visayas 1 and 2 coal units remain unavailable. Imports from Mindanao are also limited because generating plants there are offline while demand is high. NGCP additionally expected demand to rise during the evening peak. Two small Power Barge 101 units, each rated at 5.6 MW, were also unavailable.

The scale of unavailable generation is significant. NGCP said a total of 819.6 MW was unavailable to the Visayas grid on Wednesday. Eleven power plants had entered forced outage during August alone. Other units have remained unavailable since previous months or even earlier years, while twelve additional plants were operating at reduced output.

Local reports described another day of brownouts and Manual Load Dropping, or MLD. This procedure temporarily cuts electricity to selected service areas so supply and demand can be brought back into balance without allowing the entire grid to become unstable. Utilities on Negros issued MLD schedules for August 19.

The latest alert is not an isolated event. The Visayas grid has repeatedly entered critical alert conditions during recent days. The recurring pattern shows how vulnerable the system becomes when several major generators are unavailable at the same time and imports from neighboring grids are restricted.

For households and businesses in affected areas, short-notice power interruptions remain possible. Residents can reduce disruption by keeping phones, batteries and power banks charged, keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed during an outage, and waiting for stable service before reconnecting sensitive electronic equipment. The situation also illustrates why controlled local outages are sometimes used: they can help prevent a much larger blackout.

Quellen / Sources:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/999105/visayas-power-grid-red-alert/story/
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/758813/another-day-of-brownouts-as-visayas-grid-faces-its-10th-red-alert