Renewable energy groups are pushing for an urgent energy summit for the Visayas region before the Christmas holiday, warning that narrow power reserves are putting households and businesses at risk of outages and higher electricity bills.
Industry leaders say the meeting would bring together key players to map out fixes for the region’s fragile power situation, which has seen supply barely keep up with demand through 2026. According to data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, from January to October 29 this year, the Visayas grid recorded 128 yellow alerts and 52 red alerts. Yellow alerts signal low power reserves, while red alerts mean supply is too low to meet demand and blackouts may follow.
For most of the year, available power capacity in Visayas has ranged between 2,200 and 2,900 megawatts, while daily peak demand hits 2,300 to 2,550 megawatts. This leaves only a small safety buffer — and at times no extra power at all — for Cebu, Panay and Bohol, among other areas in the cluster.
Jay Layug, president of the Developers of Renewable Energy Associations (DREAM), said the goal of the proposed summit is to protect consumers’ daily operations and keep the regional economy on track. Maria Theresa Capellan, chair of the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA), backed the call, adding that quick‑to‑install rooftop solar paired with battery storage could add much‑needed power supply. She noted these systems can be set up in weeks and keep homes, shops and factories running even after dark, and that falling costs make solar‑plus‑battery options one of the cheapest available sources of electricity for the region.
Still, industry watchers worry that current pressures could push authorities toward short‑term fixes such as more fossil‑fuel‑run generators that rely on imported fuel. Layug warned that global supply chain shifts and geopolitical tensions including developments around the Strait of Hormuz keep imported fuel prices volatile. He said while the rush to put up diesel generators is an understandable quick response, leaning heavily on costlier imported fuel will eventually shift heavier financial burdens to power users and is not a long‑term solution for Visayas.
The groups are urging policymakers to consider stronger support for renewable energy with storage as a core strategy, and say a pre‑Christmas summit would give government officials, grid operators and energy developers a chance to align policies before demand typically rises during the holiday season.
