The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) expects the country’s power transmission network to remain stable throughout the summer season, provided that generation companies adhere to their scheduled maintenance programs.

In a briefing on Wednesday, April 15, Cynthia Alabanza, a spokesperson for the privately led grid operator, said that the current outlook for the summer months does not include grid alerts or emergency shutdowns.

The grid’s reliability is being managed through a comprehensive program that monitors ongoing and upcoming power project works in the country.

Any elevation to an alert status would likely result from unplanned or unscheduled outages at individual power plants rather than a deficiency in the transmission infrastructure itself, Alabanza said.

The assurance comes as the Department of Energy (DOE) pushes for more aggressive rollout of renewable energy facilities to bolster the nation's thin power reserves.

While the NGCP supports the integration of more capacity, Alabanza said that the intermittent nature of solar and wind power necessitates a strong foundation of baseload capacity.

She noted that while NGCP is accelerating its own transmission projects to mitigate supply risks, the grid still requires steady, round-the-clock power sources to maintain frequency and prevent localized blackouts.

Consumers are already facing higher electricity costs this month, driven in part by a 4.26 percent rise in transmission rates.

Julius Ryan Datingaling, NGCP head of revenue management, said the transmission rate for the March billing cycle climbed to ₱1.7526 per kilowatt-hour from ₱1.6810 per kilowatt-hour in the previous month.

The increase was fueled by a rise in ancillary service rates—the pass-through costs for power used to balance the grid—which moved to ₱0.8516 per kilowatt-hour from ₱0.8275 per kilowatt-hour.

The transmission wheeling rate, which represents the core cost of delivering electricity, also edged higher to ₱0.7022 per kilowatt-hour from ₱0.6677 per kilowatt-hour.

NGCP officials clarified that these fluctuations do not result in higher corporate earnings, as its revenue is strictly capped by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

The company noted that ancillary service charges are remitted directly to the generation firms that provide the backup power or to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.