The Department of Energy (DOE) is calling for an urgent increase in baseload power supply for Visayas, warning that the area’s leading status in renewable energy (RE) is insufficient to prevent persistent electricity shortages.

While the Visayas grid boasts the highest share of clean energy in the country, a month-long streak of grid constraints has exposed its vulnerability to supply fluctuations. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin told reporters on Monday, June 1, that repeated “red” and “yellow” alerts—signaling severe supply deficiencies—show the need for traditional, steady power plants to match accelerating economic growth and consumer demand.

“Visayas is one of the areas in the country that has a lot of renewable energy,” Garin said. She noted that while renewables account for an average of 25 percent of the national power mix, they make up 45 percent of the generation capacity in Visayas.

However, the influx of intermittent sources like solar and wind requires a steady counterweight. Garin said the region currently lacks adequate domestic baseload and mid-merit facilities—plants that can adjust output based on power demand. This deficit forces the central islands to rely heavily on electricity imports from the Luzon and Mindanao grids, leaving Visayas highly exposed whenever localized plant outages occur.

To address the gap, the energy department is coordinating with private developers to accelerate construction of new conventional power facilities. Still, relief from large-scale projects remains years away. Gas-fired plants typically take five years to construct, while coal-fired facilities require between three to five years, according to Garin. She added that poor coordination among some ongoing projects has further delayed scheduled completions.

As a stopgap measure, the government is exploring the deployment of temporary power barges and modular generators. Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan said officials are evaluating a 70-megawatt bunker barge, a 20-megawatt modular diesel generator set, a 50-megawatt natural gas-fueled power barge, and at least 20 megawatts of battery energy storage systems.

The supply crunch remains immediate. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines issued another yellow alert for Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., driven by high demand and the forced shutdown of four major power plants. Peak demand was projected to hit 2,392 megawatts against an available capacity of 2,552 megawatts, leaving a thin margin of safety.

The grid operator warned of possible manual load dropping, or rotating brownouts, across major urban and provincial centers. Outages could hit franchise areas operated by Visayas Electric Company, Mactan Electric Company, and MORE Electric and Power Corporation, alongside electric cooperatives spanning Cebu, Negros, Panay, Bohol, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras.

The grid operator stated that the rotational disruptions, caused by constrained generation in the Cebu-Negros-Panay sub-grids, would persist into the evening unless system conditions unexpectedly improve.