- 19 hours ago
CEBU’S POWER SUPPLY: ARE WE READY FOR GROWING DEMAND?
Cebu’s electricity demand continues to grow—but can the power sector keep up?
Visayan Electric President and General Manager Mark Anthony Kindica joins Beyond the Headlines to discuss Cebu’s power supply, electricity rates, grid reliability, and the challenges of meeting the province’s increasing energy needs.
What can consumers expect from their electricity bills, and what is being done to ensure a stable and reliable power supply for Cebu?
Catch the conversation on Beyond the Headlines. Look Deeper. Think Better.
Cebu’s electricity demand continues to grow—but can the power sector keep up?
Visayan Electric President and General Manager Mark Anthony Kindica joins Beyond the Headlines to discuss Cebu’s power supply, electricity rates, grid reliability, and the challenges of meeting the province’s increasing energy needs.
What can consumers expect from their electricity bills, and what is being done to ensure a stable and reliable power supply for Cebu?
Catch the conversation on Beyond the Headlines. Look Deeper. Think Better.
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NewsTranscript
00:11It starts with a fresh shot of espresso. Bold, rich, pulled just right.
00:21Then comes the milk. Steamed smooth, creamy, and balanced. The perfect latte is not brushed. It is crafted one cup
00:31at a time. Your perfect latte is ready. Coffee first, then everything else.
00:39Good afternoon and welcome to Beyond the Headlines. I'm DJ Moises and today's conversation is brought to us by Coffee
00:46First.
00:47Right now, Cebuanos are experiencing your rotational brownouts and many are asking, why is this happening and when will it
00:56end?
00:57Let's look deeper and think better to help us understand what's happening behind the switch and what the road ahead
01:05looks like for Cebu is Mark Anthony Kindika.
01:09He's the president and general manager of Visayan Electric. So hello, Mark. Welcome to Beyond the Headlines.
01:15Thank you for having me here.
01:16We're also just as grateful to have you here.
01:19So let's start with the basic now because we have viewers like me who are curious that when a person
01:27switches on the light, where does the electricity come from?
01:32So let's start from where it's generated.
01:35Yes.
01:35So electricity is generated from the power plants. That's why we call it generation.
01:40And then once it's produced, then it flows and transmitted through the transmission line at higher voltage.
01:48Then it goes through us, the distributors.
01:51So we distribute to the end users at lower voltages.
01:56Like for example, your homes, commercial, industrial customers.
02:02So we're the direct link to the end users.
02:05So what you're saying actually is there's generation, transmission, and then distribution, which is where VECO is.
02:16So when we say that there is currently, there are rotational brownouts in the Visayas or in Cebu, where is
02:27the gap?
02:28Is it in the generation? Is it in the transmission? Or is it in the distribution?
02:34For this case, it's in the generation. So there's a gap in generation.
02:40So tell us more about the gap.
02:43Okay, see ya.
02:43Sure. So yes. So like right now, we're experiencing a very slim margin of reserve.
02:51So like if we have a demand, amount of demand, and the difference between the demand and the supply is
02:58really slim.
02:59So we wanted that to be wider, because if there's a fluctuation in the demand, or there's something wrong with
03:09some of the power plants, it would not result into deficit or as you say, rotational brownout.
03:16So for us to have a sense of scale, and I know this is not directly within your scope. How
03:25much does Visayas actually need? What's the peak demand? And where are we now?
03:33So I agree, it should have been as a, and GCP should have a better position.
03:38But we're, for, in my own knowledge, it's around, we're around 4 to 2,600 gigawatt in the entire Visayas.
03:49And today and in the past weeks, we're probably locking from around 600 to 800 megawatt.
03:58So there is also a gap in that area, no?
04:03Yes.
04:04And then we keep hearing also about power plant outage. What does that mean?
04:11Power plant outage?
04:12Yes.
04:13Or forced outage.
04:14Oh, forced outage, right.
04:15Yes.
04:16So those are, plant has outage in several reasons, no?
04:21There's a plant maintenance. And the forced outages are the unscheduled outages.
04:28Probably there's a problem with the plant, either typical or boiler tube leaks, mechanical problems.
04:36So what we're saying is because the demand is so close already to the supply for any outage, especially the
04:49forced outage, that's when it would trigger brown outs, no?
04:54And in this case, if it can be forecasted, that's when there is rotation of brown outs.
05:01So let's go also into the terminologies now because we would hear yellow and red.
05:06So can you walk us through also what's yellow and what's red?
05:10So yellow alert, again, these are terminologies of NGCP, our grid operator, our transmission.
05:17So yellow alert typically says that we have enough to meet the demand.
05:24The supply has enough to meet the demand, but we have a very slim margin or reserve.
05:32So if there's any disruption, it will be felt.
05:38Yes, it might go to red alert, which means red alert means that the supply is not the same as
05:46the demand.
05:47So the demand is higher than the supply at any certain point of time.
05:51So let's say for a peak period, like for example, for Visayas, it's around night time, 6 to 8.
05:58So that's the peak period.
05:59And then, just for clarification, because maybe the consumers like me are not just able to follow well.
06:10When rotational brown outs happen, that means it's already red.
06:16Maybe because we did not follow it, what sticks on our mind is it's yellow.
06:21And then people wonder why is there a brown out when it's still yellow.
06:24Yeah, let's say when the grid says or NGCP says that today at this time there's a yellow alert,
06:31there's also a high tendency that it becomes red anytime because of the demand and the supply scenarios.
06:40And then when it comes to rotational brown out, how do you determine which areas should be impacted and which
06:48areas should continue?
06:49Yeah, so before we go to rotational brown out, we encourage what we call ILPs or Interruptible Load Program participants
06:59to apply first.
07:03So for the ILPs, they reduce first their consumption using their backup generators.
07:09So if the requirement given by NGCP is not that big, so possibly our ILPs can offset that.
07:21So we don't need to have an irrotational brown out.
07:23But if the requirement is really high, we have a protocol.
07:28And we've also changed that protocol just recently.
07:32We're trying to build a schedule that's fixed so people can anticipate when will be their schedule of the rotational
07:42brown out.
07:43So they can also plan ahead.
07:45So basically, we're trying to do that only one hour, one hour a day.
07:50And it becomes rotational so that we can spread the outages.
07:56Not only for, let's say, for example, one customer suffers the outage, you know, we share the burden.
08:02And also, as much as possible, if the critical infrastructure could not be affected, as much as possible.
08:09So we also avoid that.
08:11But basically, for feeders or areas where there are several commercial or industrial, we're trying to schedule that after five.
08:23And for areas where it's heavily residential, we're trying to schedule it before five.
08:30So it's like you're trying to avoid the peak operation of whether it's a household or whether it's a commercial
08:39area, no?
08:41Yes.
08:42We also understand the situation that we also need that the commercial should also run and also households will be
08:51home at night.
08:52So if it's possible, we do that.
08:55Sige, so if we have certain gaps in terms of the generation, where does Cebu get its supply, secure its
09:12supply?
09:13Is it entirely from the besides?
09:14Because I also heard that you are also getting supply from as far as Mindanao.
09:20Yes, for sure.
09:22Within Cebu, we are not self-sufficient.
09:25So if we look only at Cebu, our demand really is higher than the current capacity of generation within Cebu.
09:34And also, even in Visayas.
09:37So you're correct.
09:38We need to import power coming from Luzon and Mindanao.
09:43And then, what happened to Luzon or Mindanao recently that Cebu is experiencing shortage or gaps in supply, no?
09:55I believe, again, NGCB has the better position.
09:59I know, I know, I know.
10:01And thank you for still answering the question.
10:05Based on my knowledge, Luzon is relatively okay.
10:11Mindanao is also somewhat suffering the same scenario as us.
10:15There are also certain plants that are out on forest outage, as you mentioned.
10:20But for Luzon, we have limited capacity coming from Luzon to feed to Visayas because of the capacity of our
10:30what we call submarine cables.
10:34And also, because of the problems that are happening in Mindanao, we're also seeing that the power coming from Mindanao
10:44has also been reduced.
10:45Reduced.
10:45Yes.
10:46And before I'll ask my next question, once again, on your behalf, I'll give a disclaimer.
10:52Because I think my next question is a little bit hard-hitting.
10:56So, VECO is, because we covered that there's generation, there's transmission, and then there's distribution.
11:04And the reason why we associate every interruption to VECO is because they are on the distribution.
11:10So, they are closest to the customer.
11:12But there are other players before that.
11:14So, my question actually is supposedly addressed to the generation side.
11:22But is there, I mean, are we growing?
11:29So, when we say the economy of Cebuba, are we growing also at a rate faster than the ability of
11:37the generators to also fill that demand?
11:41Because that's the impression also.
11:44So, we've seen it, we've looked at charts, and we've seen that it is looking like that.
11:51So, but again, I think we also need to, for us, we don't want to stop the economic growth of
11:59Cebu.
11:59We also need to put an infrastructure to support the growth.
12:03So, but yeah, I guess you're right.
12:05And from, again, disclaimer, I hope our viewers have captured that.
12:10And from what you're seeing, at least, from your observation, is our yellow situation something that we will have to
12:21anticipate to live with for now?
12:24Or are we soon going back to normal?
12:28Because that's also the common question.
12:31Is this the new normal, or this is just temporary?
12:33I hope not, this is not the new normal.
12:36But as the generating plants, power plants are back online, I believe we can be back on normal pretty soon.
12:46Maybe within the year, end of the year.
12:48And again, this is not your scope, but at least from what you're seeing, I mean, I'm asking on behalf
12:56of the public now.
12:57Are we anticipating more power generation in the future?
13:03At least from what you're observing that are in the pipeline soon to at least keep us from the situation
13:11where we are sensitive to outages or downtimes?
13:17Yes, based on the list that we've seen when DOE presented, there were a lineup of generation plants that are
13:23coming in.
13:25But for me, as a distribution, part of the distribution utility, we would have wanted to see power plants that
13:34are lined up more on the base load.
13:36I think that's something we really need.
13:39So it's really base load.
13:41And now, there's the good side of at least the everyday Sabuanos like me hearing about renewable energy.
13:49If we look at it in the context of the environment and how it benefits the planet in general.
13:59But I'm also hearing, education, I know this is not your scope, but I'm also hearing or what usually happens
14:07also when the weather isn't good.
14:09So that means the sun is not shining as brightly as we want it to be.
14:14So what's also the consequence of that, just for education?
14:18Yes, so especially for solar plants, which are many here.
14:25Then if there's a cloud cover, the generation or the output of the solar can go from as high to
14:33as very low because of the cloud cover.
14:35So that would also impact the stability of the grid.
14:38We've seen some instances where we had red alerts or rotational brownout during the day because of the cloud cover.
14:47So that's also one area that at least everyday Sabuanos like me are educated.
14:57Since we're also moving towards renewable energy sources such as solar.
15:04So at least if there's cloud cover, we can anticipate that most likely there may be an interruption considering the
15:13amount of supply and demand that we currently have in the region.
15:19In the Visayas.
15:22So what's the person, not really the exact number, but are there a lot of solar powered generation already in
15:39Cebu?
15:40I believe not yet in Cebu, but there are a lot in Visayas, I believe in Negros.
15:47There's a lot in Negros.
15:48And that's also where we secure part of our supply.
15:52Yes, part of the market or the power pumping into the market.
15:57What about the wind generated supply?
16:02Do we have a lot of that or just solar for now?
16:05I believe there are also wind generating plants in the Visayas, but not that many.
16:13So in the course then, let's go back.
16:17In the course of the rotational brownout, at least for the benefit of the viewers, the solutioning, which part of
16:26these brownouts can be solutioned by distributors?
16:30And which of these gaps in supply can be addressed by NGCP and can be addressed further also on those
16:43generating electricity?
16:46So let me start, what is the, I think the immediate, really to get the plants online as soon as
16:54possible, the generating plants I mean.
16:56So that will solve the current or the immediate situation right now.
17:02For the DU, what we can do really is to help the stability of the grid so that we don't
17:11experience a widespread blackout.
17:13So that's what we did, the ILPs.
17:16So we encourage more participants for ILP.
17:20And if it's still lacks the demand reduction, so that's why, that's where we go with the rotational brownout.
17:29So, and I think that's for the DU in terms of what, where we are currently are.
17:35And if I may also for the transmission, I believe we can still expand the capacities of the submarine cables
17:43coming from Luzon.
17:44So that we can secure.
17:46Yes, more power coming from Luzon and probably also in coming from Mindanao.
17:51But it's really, I think it's, we can prioritize the capacity coming from Luzon.
17:57And I'm asking this now, you as an everyday consumer, as an everyday Sabuano, what do you think also are
18:05the investments which you consider as urgent as of this time to prevent us from being in this situation again?
18:13And it may be short term or long term.
18:16Short term, maybe again, short term, get the plans back online.
18:23Probably, although we've started, there's already private sector starting to build the BESS or the battery energy storage system.
18:32That could also complement for the intermittency of the solar or the renewable sources.
18:38So battery energy is also, I think, it's really needed as well.
18:43It's like the power bank now.
18:44Yeah, it's like a power bank.
18:46Exactly.
18:46For two hours or four hours.
18:48It's like a power bank.
18:49So we can charge it during off-peak time and then discharge and distribute or put it back in the
18:58grid on the peak hours.
19:00And also, medium-long term probably is really transmission infrastructure.
19:07Increasing the capacities of Luzon, Submarine.
19:12So that we can share.
19:13Yes.
19:14And we can get and share.
19:16Most often than not, we get it from Luzon and Minnao.
19:21And also, lineup of power plants as much as possible for long term baseload.
19:27Baseload power plants.
19:28Yesterday, the headline, before we go, before I let you go.
19:32Yesterday, the headline of Sunstar gave a date of September 11.
19:36Can you clarify or can you comment on that?
19:42If the power plants become ready and online by September 11, then…
19:47Generation, you mean?
19:48Yeah.
19:48Power plants and generation, I mean, yes.
19:51Then we won't be having the…
19:54Possibly, yes.
19:55We will be having the rotational brownout.
19:57So it's more of conditional, no?
19:59Yes.
20:00Not necessarily.
20:01Because when people saw the headline, people got excited.
20:05It's really the power plant.
20:06If they're back online, those that are on fourth outage…
20:10These are the coal plants, no?
20:11Yeah, there are several.
20:12Different in the Visayas.
20:14So there are also plants that are derated.
20:17There are plants that are out.
20:19There are plants that are under maintenance.
20:21So if they're back online before September 11, then…
20:25We're good.
20:26We see the supply and the capacity to be more stable.
20:31To be more stable.
20:32Sige.
20:32Last two questions.
20:35What are your hacks or tips for everyday consumers so that we can hurdle this challenge until hopefully September 11?
20:47So first, it's really when we try to save on electricity use so we don't add the burden of the
20:55demand of the entire grid.
20:58And be mindful of your schedule.
20:59So we're trying to fix it on the rotational brownout on a daily basis that you're on a fixed schedule.
21:06So be mindful so maybe you can do all your activities outside of that schedule.
21:14We're trying to maintain the one-hour schedule every day on a daily basis.
21:19So we don't want to extend it more.
21:24And precisely, that's it.
21:26And for commercial, industrial, if you want to participate in our Interruptible Load Program, you are very welcome.
21:35So we can also help others who cannot produce on their own or doesn't have a standby generator.
21:43And final question.
21:44What gives you confidence that we can overcome this challenge?
21:48I know that the Cebuanos are resilient.
21:52Yes.
21:52And you mentioned the September 11 date.
21:55So I'm hopeful that they'll be back online.
21:59And it's really, it's also, I'm also confident with the private sectors of Cebu.
22:05And also the coordination between private and public sector that we can build on, not only for the solution for
22:14the short term, but also moving forward so we can support Cebu's growth.
22:19And anything else, this too shall pass.
22:25Yeah.
22:26And thank you very much for clarifying and also not just for allowing us to understand why the lights go
22:35out now, but also what we can do or what we are doing to keep Cebu moving forward.
22:42So thank you for joining us today.
22:43Thank you very much.
22:45So keeping Cebu powered is more than keeping the lights on.
22:49It requires enough generation, a reliable grid, the right infrastructure, and cooperation across government, industry, and consumers.
22:59The headlines tell us what happened.
23:01Understanding tells us why it matters.
23:04So I'm DJ Moise.
23:05Shout out to Coffee First for supporting conversations that matter.
23:08This has been Beyond the Headlines.
23:10Have a good afternoon.
23:12Okay.
23:16It starts with a fresh shot of espresso.
23:20Bold, rich, pulled just right.
23:26Then comes the milk, steamed smooth, creamy, and balanced.
23:31The perfect latte is not brushed.
23:34It is crafted one cup at a time.
23:38Your perfect latte is ready.
23:40Coffee first, then everything else.
23:50Coffee first, then everything else.
23:53And when you do.
23:56Have a good night.
23:58And I'll see you next time.
23:59What is the best.
24:02Do the best.
24:06What is the best.
24:07Do the best.
24:08Do the best.
24:10Do the best.
24:13Do the best.
24:15Do the best.
24:17Do the best.
24:19And I'll see you next time.
24:19You
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