CERA: Declare energy emergency in Cebu due to low power supply

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – A local group is calling for the declaration of an energy emergency in Cebu, as the province is now experiencing very thin power reserves due to insufficient electricity supply in the Visayas grid.

“Cebu is at breaking point,” said Nathaniel Chua, lead convenor of the Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (CERA).

In a statement released on Saturday, Chua urged provincial and national authorities to declare an energy emergency to address the need for a stable power source.

READ: Grid outlook: Visayas grid maintains thin power reserve

Chua said that while the national government has previously addressed energy supply concerns through executive orders, “the unique industrial demands and infrastructure bottlenecks in Cebu require a targeted, localized intervention.”

Cebu Energy Task Force

He is proposing the creation of a Cebu Energy Task Force (CETF), a high-level coordinating body designed to bridge the gap between national energy policy and local infrastructure realities.

READ: Rotational brownouts possible in Metro Cebu from 4 to 8 p.m. on June 15

“By acting as the primary liaison between the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), local distribution utilities, and provincial stakeholders, the CETF would focus on proactive management rather than reactive damage control.”

For Chua, the CETF’s functions should include the following:

Monitor the maintenance and upgrade schedules of aging power plants and transmission lines within the province.

Coordinate with the NGCP to ensure transmission capacity keeps pace with Cebu’s industrial growth, preventing the “grid congestion” that often triggers cascading outages.

Act as a “one stop shop” to fast track the approval process for new, high efficiency baseload power projects.

Remove local bureaucratic bottlenecks that frequently delay critical energy infrastructures.

Prioritize energy delivery to critical lifelines (hospitals, water pumping stations, and telecommunications hubs) during grid emergencies.

Develop a “Cebu Specific Energy Master Plan” that incentivizes distributed energy resources to reduce dependence on a single, vulnerable transmission backbone.

Structural weaknesses

As a long-term solution, Chua is pushing for amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 to require generation companies to commit to a time-bound, mandatory modernization schedule for aging power plants, helping prevent the current trend of frequent, unplanned forced outages.

READ: Visayas power grid remains under yellow alert on Saturday

He is also proposing a shift in the generation sector away from a purely market-driven model, with the aim of ensuring that affordable electricity is treated as a fundamental public service.

According to Chua, the current power crisis is a direct consequence of structural weaknesses in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.

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