Visayas Power Grid Under Red and Yellow Alerts Throughout September — Rolling Blackouts in Cebu and Other Areas, Three More Coal Plants Shutdown on the 28th

📌 Power shortage alerts continued throughout September, including a 9-hour red alert issued for the Visayas power grid on September 3, leading to rolling blackouts in Cebu, Negros, Iloilo, Bohol, and other areas.
This was due to consecutive breakdowns of coal-fired power plants, and on September 28, three coal plants shut down simultaneously, triggering another yellow alert. This applies to Korean expats and travelers living in Visayas regions such as Cebu and Bohol.

■ What Happened
· September 3 (Thu): NGCP placed the Visayas power grid under a red alert from 1 PM to 10 PM. Peak demand hit 2,575 MW against an available capacity of 2,187 MW, leaving a 388 MW deficit → Rolling blackouts announced for Cebu, Negros, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Bohol (10 AM to 11 PM), and Leyte, Biliran, and Samar (4 PM to 9 PM)
· On the same day, the Mindanao power grid was also under a red alert, meaning no power could be sent to Visayas
· September 28 (Mon): At 4:34 AM, three coal-fired power plants (PEDC Unit 3, KEPCO SPC Unit 2, and Therma Visayas Unit 1) shut down simultaneously, triggering a yellow alert from 5 PM to 7 PM. Yellow alerts were also issued on September 24 and 27

■ Impact
· From January to September 3, the Visayas power grid issued 123 alerts (93 yellow and 30 red). Some reports indicated that the number of alert days increased to 134 by September 14
· In Metro Cebu (VECO service area), rolling blackouts extended from 1 hour to up to 2 and a half hours. On September 14, the Mandaue City Council asked VECO to "strictly follow the scheduled power interruption times" — unannounced or mistimed outages caused damages to small businesses such as laundromats and water refilling stations
· The government ordered the installation of battery energy storage systems (250 MW or more), but a fundamental solution depends on repairing the broken power plants

■ Tips for Expats and Travelers
· A yellow alert means "insufficient power reserves," while a red alert means "demand exceeds supply, making blackouts likely." When an alert is issued, prepare for power outages during the afternoon and evening hours.
· If you live in Cebu, check the blackout schedules through the Facebook announcements of your local electric cooperative, such as VECO for Cebu or MECO for Mactan. Actual outage times may differ from the schedules.
· Stock up on refrigerated food, charge your phones and power banks, and if you run a business, consider getting a generator or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

■ Sources
Manila Times (9/3), Daily Tribune (9/3, 9/15), SunStar (9/1), Cebu Daily News (September), The Freeman/Philstar (9/15), GMA News (9/27, 9/28)

■ Photos
· Panoramic view of a coal-fired power plant in Cebu (SunStar)
· Metro Cebu power distributor VECO building and service vehicle (The Freeman)