Lapu council seeks solutions to power woes

Local

By Kaiser Jan Fuentes

THE Lapu-Lapu City Council is seeking measures from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Mactan Electric Company (MECO) to address the continuing supply shortage and recurring rotational brownouts affecting consumers.

The issue was discussed during the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s 60th Regular Session on Wednesday, Sept. 23, when representatives of the three agencies attended a Question Hour.

Vice Mayor Celedonio Sitoy, who presided over the session, said NGCP could not provide a definite timeline for the end of the rotational brownouts because several power plants remain unavailable and overall generation remains insufficient.

“Ang gihisgutan sa NGCP ang problema, kuwang gyud ta sa power supply. Ang ilahang gi-suggest nga papun-an ug planta. Naa daw naguba nga mga planta nga dili na maayo sa pag-repair,” Sitoy said.

The power shortage comes amid repeated yellow and red alerts affecting the Visayas grid in recent months due to forced outages and reduced generating capacity from several power plants, along with limited electricity imports from Mindanao.

On Sept. 23, NGCP placed the Visayas grid under yellow alert from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The grid had 2,607 megawatts (MW) of available capacity against a projected peak demand of 2,418 MW, while about 886.5 MW of generating capacity was unavailable.

Sitoy said the shortage could persist beyond the next two months because additional generation capacity would be needed to address the supply gap.

“Ang kakuwang ra gyud sa generation power ang problema. Nagkinahanglan ta ug dako nga generation power,” he said.

“Base sa among session gahapon, sa akong tan-aw dili pa ni masulbad within 2 months kay kung ilang saligan ang mga planta, wala pa may negosyante nga magka-interest nga mag-add ug planta,” he added.

Council members also raised concerns about increasing electricity bills and the various charges reflected in consumers’ statements.

Sitoy said MECO explained that its role as a distribution utility gives it limited control over costs associated with power generation and transmission.

The charges discussed included payments to power suppliers for electricity generation, transmission wheeling fees collected by NGCP, and ancillary service charges intended to provide reserve power needed for grid stability.

The council has previously adopted measures concerning the power situation. On July 15, it approved Resolution No. 17-2233-2026, authored by Councilors Annabeth Cuizon, Ariane Neil Marie Yap and Marciano Alforque Jr., calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) and ERC to review and audit generation, transmission and other mandatory charges imposed on MECO consumers.

The resolution also sought a review of MECO’s power supply agreements, meter reading, bill computation and billing procedures. It asked the DOE and ERC to provide a written report on their findings.

On Sept. 7, the council approved Resolution No. 17-2518-2026, authored by Yap, urging MECO to provide timely and accurate feeder-specific schedules for rotational brownouts.

It also called for advisories identifying affected barangays, streets and areas, the expected duration of outages and restoration times. MECO was further urged to promptly announce changes to previously released schedules.

On Sept. 16, the council approved Resolution No. 17-2524-2026, formally inviting NGCP, ERC and MECO representatives to attend the Sept. 23 Question Hour and explain the continuing power interruptions and related concerns.

The session was attended by NGCP Assistant Vice President Neil Modina and Michael O. Ligalig; ERC Attorney III Mary Elizah D. Castillo and Chief Energy Regulation Officer Joel Y. Bontuyan; and MECO Chief Financial Officer Julito O. Gultiano Jr., Customer Service Department Head Dianne A. Tumulak and Operations and Maintenance Head Bernardo L. Torrecampo.

Sitoy also questioned the lack of a concrete action plan from the ERC on the concerns raised during the session.

He said he would coordinate with Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King-Chan regarding possible measures for residents and other consumers affected by the outages and higher electricity costs.

Meanwhile, Lapu-Lapu City Lone District Representative Junard “Ahong” Chan has raised the issue at the national level as one of the principal authors of House Resolution No. 1430, filed on Sept. 7.

The resolution calls for a congressional inquiry into ancillary service charges collected from electricity consumers in the Visayas, the availability and actual delivery of backup power reserves, and the status of generation, energy storage and transmission projects.

The measure was read on Sept. 9 and remains pending before the House Committee on Energy.

The council’s latest discussion adds to ongoing efforts to obtain explanations and possible measures from the agencies involved as consumers across Lapu-Lapu City continue to experience the effects of the power supply shortage.(MyTVCebu)