MGEN’s Iloilo coal plant back online

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) has brought its Iloilo City coal plant back online after it went offline in May, contributing to a string of yellow alerts in the Visayas.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) has restored Unit 3 of its 278.4-megawatt coal plant, easing the region’s months-long power supply crunch.

READ: Visayas power woes highlight need for gridwide upgrade

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Furthermore, MGEN is the power generation arm of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co.

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Aside from two other major coal facilities, the PEDC Unit 3 also went offline in May 2026 due to “an equipment failure,” which prompted the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to place the Visayas under yellow alert almost every day.

READ: Visayas power supply may stay unstable until August

In a yellow alert, the power supply can still meet demand, but serves as a warning that when a plant breaks down one way or another, it will result in brownouts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said that it will issue show cause orders against 175 erring power generators over their failure to provide reliable supply. DOE officials declined to name them. /pai INQ

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