Visayas Power Grid Crisis Prompts Calls for Separate Panay Grid and LNG Plant

The power grid in the Visayas region of the Philippines is facing a crisis, prompting lawmakers to consider solutions such as creating a separate grid for Panay and building an liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Iloilo. MORE Power officials cited manual load dropping (MLD) incidents, including one on May 13 caused by outages at major power plants.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines' (NGCP) transmission projects are expected to be completed only by 2030 and 2040, leading lawmakers to suggest that the private sector could build transmission lines if NGCP cannot. This proposal may become part of amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

MORE Power officials explained that Iloilo is particularly vulnerable due to its location at the 'tail end' of the Visayas grid, which receives power from Luzon and Mindanao. The Department of Energy is drafting a Panay Master Plan to address the region's needs, including upcoming power plants.