PrimElectric holds Visayas power forum on grid reliability, electricity price outlook

PrimElectric, with its subsidiaries MORE Power, Negros Power, and Bohol Light, is holding a power forum Monday, July 13, at SMX Convention Center Bacolod, focusing on grid reliability and electricity price outlook.

Dubbed Visayas Power Forum: Grid Reliability and Electricity Price Outlook, the forum is addressing issues on recurring yellow and red alert conditions resulting from prolonged outages of major generating units, transmission constraints, and limited reserve capacity.

The series of yellow and red alerts have significantly increased prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), directly affecting the generation cost passed on to electricity consumers across the Visayas.

“While distribution utilities are often the face of electricity service in their respective franchise areas, the recent increases in electricity rates are largely driven by conditions in the generation sector and the overall power system. The challenges are not unique to one utility but are shared by distribution utilities throughout the Visayas interconnected grid. In light of these developments, there is a need for a unified platform where government agencies, market operators, industry experts, business stakeholders, and the media can openly discuss the current power situation, its impact on electricity prices, and the measures being undertaken to improve power supply reliability,” a briefer on the forum stated.

The Visayas Power Forum aims to provide factual, transparent, and evidence-based discussions that will foster greater public understanding of the issues affecting the region’s power sector, it was also stated.

Neil V. Parcon, VP Corp. Energy Sourcing and Commercial Regulatiry Affairs of PrimElectric Holdings, Inc., delivered the Opening Remarks and Forum Overview.

Joseph Ladrido, Institute of Contemporary Economics (ICE), spoke on Economic Impact of Market Price Volatility and Marginal Losses.

Other speakers and topics are: Engr. Robinson Descanzo, Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) on Visayas Power Situation and System Scenarios; Dir. Luningning Baltazar, Department of Energy-EPIMB on Yellow and Red Alerts: Current Situation and DOE Initiatives to Address Supply Gaps; Antonette Badillo, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Market Operations Service on Regulatory Measures to Mitigate Customer Impact.

Representatives from local government units, multisectoral groups and stakeholders are also in attendance.

A Media and Stakeholder Open Forum / Question & Answer will precede the Closing Remarks of Atty. Richard J. Nethercott, Primelectric Holdings, Inc. Corporate Chief Operating Officer.

The Visayas power sector is facing one of its most challenging periods in recent years. Prolonged outages of major power plants, transmission limitations, and constrained reserve capacity have resulted in recurring Yellow and Red Alerts across the Visayas Grid. These conditions have significantly increased Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices, leading to higher generation charges that ultimately affect electricity consumers throughout the region, a forum briefer also stated.

Recognizing that these challenges extend beyond individual distribution utilities, PrimElectric Holdings, Inc., together with MORE Power, Negros Power, and Bohol Light Company, is convening the Visayas Power Forum to provide a common platform where government agencies, regulators, market operators, businesses, media, and industry stakeholders can discuss the current power situation, understand the drivers of electricity prices, and explore collaborative solutions for improving grid reliability, the briefer added.

The recent increase in electricity rates is primarily driven by developments in the generation sector rather than distribution utilities. During the June 2026 billing period: Average generation rates among Visayas distribution utilities increased by approximately 40%. WESM prices surged by 86% compared with previous months. Major generating unit outages and limited transmission capacity significantly reduced available supply, pushing electricity market prices up, it added.* (Arman P. Toga)