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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider Visayas alerts, Mindanao outages threaten fresh power price surge

Visayas alerts, Mindanao outages threaten fresh power price surge

Published Jun 10, 2026 12:53 pm  |  Updated Jun 10, 2026 01:55 pm

Wholesale electricity spot market prices could hit new highs in the coming weeks as grid alerts in Visayas and earthquake-induced plant outages in Mindanao squeeze power supply, according to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. (IEMOP).

During a press briefing on Wednesday, June 10, Isidro Cacho Jr., IEMOP head of trading operations, said Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices could reach the ₱9-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) threshold if power supply in the two regions remains thin.

Based on IEMOP’s latest data, the average system price in May stood at ₱7.79/kWh, about 38.5 percent higher than the ₱5.63/kWh in April.

The forecast price spike follows recurring red and yellow alerts in Visayas grid, while Mindanao experienced a magnitude 7.8 earthquake this week.

“Today, and for the past weeks, we saw that Visayas has a thin power supply; of course, that reflects into market prices. There are also power plants that faced forced outages in Visayas, and we all know Visayas is a net importer,” Cacho explained.

Cacho also noted that the recent quake affected major power plants in Sarangani province and Davao Region, specifically the 300-megawatt (MW) San Miguel Corp. (SMC) Malita coal plant in Davao Occidental province and 237-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. coal plant.

The first unit of Malita and two units of Sarangani are expected to be restored on Wednesday, while the second unit of Malita is scheduled to go back online by Saturday, June 13.

The recent disaster prompted another round of grid alerts, as National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) placed Mindanao under a yellow alert from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, while the Visayas grid was placed under a red alert from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. due to reduced power imports from Mindanao.

A yellow alert was also scheduled to take effect in Visayas from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Cacho said spot market prices could reach ₱9/kWh, although this could be tempered or avoided by lower demand and an improvement in power supply.

“As we go on to the rainy season, the demand will go down. But again, the other contributing factor is our supply. Unless there is still the big impact of forced [power plant] outages, we might be seeing the same situation. Hopefully, we could address that,” the IEMOP official said.

During the May billing period, Visayas posted the highest WESM price at ₱10.20/kWh, up 81.4 percent from ₱5.63/kWh in April.

Mindanao followed the upward trend as the spot market price jumped by 64.8 percent to ₱9.28/kWh.

Luzon, meanwhile, also recorded a 24.8-percent increase in WESM prices to ₱7.02/kWh.

Overall system supply increased marginally by 2.7 percent to 21,374 MW. However, system demand remained higher, rising by 9.4 percent to 15,755 MW.

Related Tags

IEMOP Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM)
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