Cotabato – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Monday that he has directed government agencies to intensively monitor the power situation as the country faces successive red and yellow alerts on its power grids. The declaration came during his visit to Pikit, Cotabato, where he inaugurated the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage II.
According to Philippines News Agency, the ongoing power supply challenges are due to an "overloaded" system, exacerbated by a significant rise in electricity demand amid the current heatwave across the nation. He emphasized that the situation is genuine and not fabricated. "It definitely is not an artificial crisis because the power systems are genuinely overloaded," Marcos stated. He highlighted the sudden increase in power consumption as a direct result of the heat, ensuring continuous monitoring by concerned authorities.
Furthermore, Marcos mentioned that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has been tasked with expanding infrastructure, including the construction of additional transmission lines and submarine cables, to stabilize the power supply. Last week, the Luzon and Visayas grids were placed under a yellow alert, with the Visayas grid experiencing a red alert for one hour in the afternoon. The Mindanao grid was also briefly under a yellow alert on Friday.