The Mindanao grid is projected to have a stable power supply until June 2025, with enough capacity to even export electricity to the Visayas, according to an international climate and energy think tank. In a report titled “Philippine Power Outlook: Reviewing the Adequacy of Power Supply from April to June 2025” by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), it was noted that Mindanao’s grid will maintain normal reserves this summer. The Luzon and Visayas grids, however, are expected to face scarcer power reserves in June. Mindanao can export up to 450 MW to Visayas but can reduce exports if necessary to ensure sufficient reserves. Data from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) showed that as of Thursday afternoon, Mindanao’s capacity was 3,221 MW with a demand of 2,596 MW, leaving a surplus of 625 MW. Luzon had a capacity of 15,601 MW, demand of 12,523 MW, and a surplus of 3,078 MW, while Visayas had a capacity of 2,811 MW, demand of 2,377 MW, and a surplus of 434 MW. The NGCP began commercial operations of the 450-MW Mindanao–Visayas Interconnection Project in January 2023, enabling Mindanao to export power to Visayas. The ICSC noted that while Visayas can maintain normal reserves in Q2 2025, it depends heavily on imports from Luzon and Mindanao, which rely mostly on coal-fired plants. Baseload power plant outages, especially unplanned ones, have exacerbated power supply issues during peak demand. The Luzon grid may face yellow alerts in May and red alerts in June, while Visayas could experience yellow alerts in June due to restricted exports from Luzon. Mindanao’s power surplus contrasts sharply with a decade ago when the island faced eight-hour rotating blackouts due to insufficient hydropower supply during the dry season. In 2013, 52% of Mindanao’s power came from state-owned hydropower plants. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
