Cebu power crisis forces business adjustments and calls for investigation

The Visayas region in the Philippines is facing a severe power crisis characterized by recurring unexplained outages and frequent grid alerts. The Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (CERA) has called for a congressional inquiry and a strict audit by the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission, citing a “dual failure” in both power generation and transmission.

Data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines indicates the Visayas grid has endured at least 73 consecutive days of yellow and red alerts. On September 9, a red alert was issued due to a 431-megawatt shortfall when peak demand reached 2,555 megawatts against an available capacity of 2,124 megawatts.

Local businesses are being forced to adapt to the instability. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry reports that companies are shortening or rearranging working hours to accommodate rotational brownouts. To mitigate disruptions, firms are increasingly turning to solar power and costly generator sets, though business leaders warn these are only short-term fixes. The manufacturing sector, particularly in industrial hubs like Mandaue City, remains highly vulnerable to the unstable supply.