Possible brownouts in Cebu City today, July 31: Check your schedule
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Consumers in parts of Cebu City may experience rotational brownouts Friday evening if the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) raises the Visayas grid from yellow alert to red alert amid limited power reserves.
Visayan Electric issued the advisory on Friday after the NGCP placed the Visayas grid under yellow alert from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., warning that electricity supply remains sufficient but reserve capacity has thinned.
The distribution utility said it has not scheduled any power interruptions but could implement rotational brownouts should the grid operator declare a red alert, which occurs when electricity demand exceeds available supply.
If that happens, customers in portions of Carreta, Cebu Business Park, Hipodromo, Mabolo, San Antonio, and San Roque in Cebu City may experience brownouts from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Visayan Electric said the schedule could still change depending on actual grid conditions and further directives from the NGCP.
Why the grid remains under yellow alert
As of 8 a.m. Friday, the NGCP reported that the Visayas grid had an available capacity of 2,564 megawatts (MW) against an expected peak demand of 2,321 MW, leaving only a limited operating reserve.
The grid operator explained that the yellow alert stemmed from the continued unavailability of several generating units across the Visayas.
Five power plants remained on forced outage in July, while three others have stayed offline since June, seven since May, one since March, three since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023, and one since 2021.
Another 14 generating units continue operating at reduced capacities, removing a combined 969 MW from the grid.
NGCP also cited the continued outage of the Visayas’ major coal-fired generating units TVI Units 1 and 2 and CEDC Unit 1, as well as the emergency shutdown of KSPC Unit 1 on Thursday after a boiler tube leak.
READ: Brownouts loom in Visayas amid thin power supply
A yellow alert indicates that the operating margin has fallen below the required contingency reserve, although the grid can still meet electricity demand.
A red alert, however, signals that available generation can no longer satisfy consumer demand, forcing grid operators and distribution utilities to implement rotating brownouts to prevent a widespread system failure.
Visayan Electric said it continues to monitor the grid’s condition and will issue updated advisories should the NGCP declare a red rlert or revise the interruption schedule.
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