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 [...]
More lending pushed for RE investments [Philstar]
Manila-based climate and energy policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) has called on the government and banks to provide more lending opportunities for renewable energy investments in the country. The total energy investment requirements indicated in the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) for the next 20 years are estimated at $153 billion.
DOE, ICSC: More RE needed to sustain PHL energy needs
Last August 31 to September 1, Manila-based climate and energy policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) participated in the World Clean Energy Conference Philippine Edition (WCEC PH) 2022. Held in official partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE), Global Zero Carbon Partnership, and Escom Events, WCEC PH 2022 was a venue for leading international experts, policymakers, scientists, engineers, technology developers, and business professionals to tackle pressing issues in the advancement of innovative sustainable energy sources and the achievement of the energy transition.
DOE firms up dispatch of RE plants in WESM
by Lenie Lectura | April 06, 2022| Published by Business Mirror | READ THE STORY HERE THE Department of Energy (DOE) targets to issue in the third quarter of this year a new policy declaring all renewable energy (RE) plants as preferential dispatch units in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM). During the second day of the 1st Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (REEE) Summit organized by the Meralco Power Academy, DOE Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) Director Mylene Capongcol said the agency is currently studying and pushing for this. At least two public consultations, in fact, were already [...]
DOE, ICSC: RE, not baseload coal, will best address PHL energy needs
MANILA, 06 April 2022 – The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Manila-based policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) reiterated today that renewable energy sources – through flexible, distributed generation – best suit the power generation needs of the Philippines. “Renewable energy can definitely compete with coal. In the renewable space, you only pay for the cost of developing, and naturally, the supply is available for use. This is why the DOE is looking for strategies to buy down the cost of RE in the country, not just in the investment side but also for the consumers,” [...]