Despite the combined impact of Severe Tropical Storm Opong, Super Typhoon Nando, and the Southwest Monsoon, the Philippines’ three main power grids have remained stable, even as localized outages spread across multiple regions.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said on Friday that Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids continue to operate normally and supply remains sufficient, underscoring system resilience even as storm conditions forced shutdowns, damaged transmission lines, and left electric cooperatives scrambling to restore service.

In Bicol, the BACMAN geothermal units 1–3, with a total dependable capacity of 133 megawatts, and the 28-MW Palayan Binary Plant were shut down as a precautionary measure for Opong. Other on-grid power plants remain operational.

Transmission services have been disrupted in parts of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Negros Oriental, where four NGCP 69-kilovolt lines went down as of Friday morning. NGCP said inspection and restoration will proceed once the weather improves.

The DOE is monitoring 87 electric cooperatives across 12 regions; 16 have reported partial service interruptions while six have experienced full blackouts, mostly in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, and MIMAROPA. Task Force Kapatid teams from unaffected cooperatives are providing restoration support.

Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin stressed that lifeline facilities are the government’s priority in restoration efforts. “While our foremost priority is the safety of our people and the resilience of our energy systems, the Department, through the Task Force on Energy Resiliency (NGCP), is working non-stop and that restorations of power in all affected areas will be in full swing once the weather allows,” she said.

The downstream oil industry remains stable, with bulk fuel facilities fully operational and only 10 retail stations—nine in Region I and one in Region III—temporarily offline. Almost all electric vehicle charging stations are also available, except for one site in San Juan, La Union.

Hydropower facilities are also managing storm inflows through controlled releases. Ambuklao and Binga Dams have two gates each open, while Magat Dam has three gates open, all while continuing normal power generation.

The DOE noted that while provincial outages are significant, the overall integrity of the grid has not been compromised. This, it said, is critical for sustaining essential services as extreme weather events increasingly put the sector under pressure.

 What further measures can be taken to ensure grid reliability as extreme weather intensifies in the Philippines? 

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