The Visayas power grid was placed under Yellow Alert on Tuesday, May 12, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, as available capacity neared critical levels amid high electricity demand and multiple plant outages.

According to grid monitoring data as of 3:45 PM, the region’s available capacity stood at 2,684 megawatts (MW), slightly above the peak demand of 2,512 MW, leaving a thin operating margin for the grid.

Energy officials reported that 11 power plants have been on forced outage since March 2026, with additional units offline since 2025, 2024, 2023, and even as far back as 2021. In total, around 833 MW remains unavailable due to outages and derated operations across nine plants.

Among the key contributors to the alert are the forced outages of TVI Unit 1 (169 MW), TVI Unit 2 (169 MW), and PEDC Unit 3 (150 MW), combined with elevated system demand during peak hours.

Authorities explained that a Yellow Alert is issued when the operating reserve is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirements, signaling limited buffer capacity should unexpected plant failures occur.

Power grid operators continue to monitor the situation closely as they manage supply stability during the peak demand period.