ICSC: Distributed energy and battery storage can solve the Visayas grid crisis
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities ANALYSIS The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is calling for a more diversified, decentralized, and flexible power system, as the twin issues of persistent grid alerts and high Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices—fueled by forced outages across major coal plants—highlight the risks of overdependence on centralized baseload power plants as seen in the recurring yellow and red alerts experienced in Visayas. Coal accounts for around 60% of the Philippines' electricity generation. In Visayas, these coal power plants had notable shutdowns in recent months: Therma Visayas Inc. Unit 1 (TVI [...]
Grid alerts, high WESM prices signal need for power system flexibility
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities PRESS RELEASE QUEZON CITY, 01 June 2026 –– The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) emphasized that recurring grid alerts and sustained high prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) point to a fundamental gap in the Philippine power system: the lack of flexible generation capacity. Throughout May 2026, grid alerts have been repeatedly raised across Luzon and the Visayas, with multiple instances of yellow and red alerts declared due to thin operating reserves. These alerts have, at times, necessitated rotational blackouts in multiple areas across the country to keep the [...]
ICSC: Luzon and Visayas grid alerts underscore the strong need for a more resilient, distributed power system
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities REACTIVE QUEZON CITY, 17 April 2026 –– The yellow alerts raised over the Luzon and Visayas grids yesterday highlight a recurring vulnerability in the Philippines’ power system: the country’s energy sector remains baseload-centric and relies on large power plants, making the grid more exposed to disruptions that affect Filipino households and businesses across the country. The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) has constantly emphasized that relying heavily on only a few large power plants makes the energy system less flexible and unreliable. Even short-term outages or plants operating below normal capacity [...]
Philippine power supply for Q2 2026 remains sufficient, but thin reserves leave grid at risk amid demand surge and plant outages
Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities PRESS RELEASE QUEZON CITY, 25 March 2026 — The Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids are projected to have sufficient power supply from April to June 2026 but reserve margins remain thin, according to the latest report of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC). That said, power supply margins remain highly vulnerable to changes in demand, delays in project completion, unplanned outages of major power plants, and constraints in the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines. In the latest “Philippine Power Outlook: Reviewing the Adequacy of Power Supply for April to June 2026” [...]