Recent rotational brownouts in Luzon have highlighted the urgent need to modernize the country’s aging power grid, with state-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) warning that transmission bottlenecks and delayed infrastructure projects are increasingly threatening energy security.

In a statement on Friday, May 29, PIDS quoted senior research fellow Adoracion Navarro as saying during a recent webinar that the outages exposed vulnerabilities in the power sector, including limited reserve margins, dependence on a small number of large power plants, and weaknesses in the transmission network.

“The rolling brownouts underscored the Philippines’ power vulnerability. It is no longer just a matter of insufficient generation capacity. Increasingly, it is a grid resilience problem,” Navarro said.

The recent power interruptions occurred after the tripping of major transmission lines triggered supply shortages across parts of Luzon, renewing concerns over the reliability of the country’s electricity infrastructure amid rising demand.

Navarro said delays in transmission expansion and grid modernization are making it more difficult for the power sector to keep pace with growing electricity consumption and the increasing integration of renewable energy (RE) into the grid.

Based on data presented during the webinar, only 75 of 258 planned transmission projects had been completed as of January 2025, raising concerns about the pace of grid development.

Navarro identified delays in regulatory reviews, right-of-way (ROW) acquisition, and permitting processes as among the key obstacles slowing the expansion of transmission infrastructure.

“Insufficient transmission capacity is causing congestion, delaying grid expansion, and limiting integration of new and renewable energy,” Navarro said.

Former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta, who served as discussant during the webinar, said many of the challenges confronting the transmission sector today stem from the historical design of the country’s power system.

“We need to understand and appreciate—so that we can formulate the correct solutions—that our grid is a heritage grid,” Dimalanta said.

According to Dimalanta, the transmission network was originally designed for a highly centralized and vertically integrated electricity industry in which a single entity controlled power generation and delivery.

“It is built on a backbone that was designed as a highly centralized and vertically integrated system, meaning iisa lang ang may-ari mula sa paggawa hanggang sa pagde-deliver ng kuryente,” Dimalanta said.

While the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 introduced competition and restructured the sector, much of the transmission infrastructure was developed before those reforms took effect, Dimalanta noted.

Today, the power sector consists of multiple market participants and a growing share of RE capacity, placing new demands on a grid designed for a very different operating environment.

To address these challenges and help prevent similar outages, Navarro called for stronger implementation of the country’s Transmission Development Plan, faster ROW acquisition, improved interagency coordination, and greater accountability for project delays.

Navarro also urged reforms to strengthen the technical capacity, enforcement powers, and institutional independence of the ERC.

“If there are weaknesses in regulatory action, this amplifies uncertainty, distorts incentives, and fuels perceptions of regulatory capture,” Navarro said.

Both Navarro and Dimalanta stressed that strengthening the transmission network would be critical not only for improving reliability but also for supporting the country’s RE ambitions and meeting rising electricity demand.