Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has called on residents, businesses, and institutions to immediately cut down electricity use as the Visayas power grid was placed under red alert on Wednesday afternoon amid a tightening power supply situation that raised the risk of rotating brownouts.
In a social media advisory posted on May 14, 2026, Archival said the Visayas grid was under red alert from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with an estimated 128-megawatt shortfall.
He also cited reports that more than 866 megawatts of generation capacity were offline across the region, placing significant strain on available supply.
He warned that the situation was critical and required immediate public cooperation to help stabilize demand during peak hours.
“This is not a drill,” Archival said, as he appealed for immediate energy conservation measures across households and commercial establishments.
The mayor urged the public to switch off lights and appliances not in use, set air-conditioning units to 25°C or higher, and avoid using high-consumption appliances during peak hours from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
He also advised residents to unplug idle devices and chargers as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary load on the grid.
He emphasized that even small reductions in consumption could help prevent widespread disruptions affecting essential services.
“Every kilowatt we save is a brownout we help prevent for our neighbors, our hospitals, and our community,” Archival said.
The advisory came as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) warned that it may implement Manual Load Dropping (MLD) in several areas across the Visayas to maintain the integrity of the power system.
According to NGCP, the possible implementation window for MLD is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on May 14.
Areas potentially affected include a wide range of electric cooperatives and distribution utilities across the region, among them VECO, MECO, CEBECO I, CEBECO II, CEBECO III, NEPC, NOCECO, NORECO I, NORECO II, NONECO, MORE, AKELCO, ANTECO, CAPELCO, ILECO I, ILECO II, ILECO III, GUIMELCO, LEYECO II, SOLECO, DORELCO, LEYECO III, LEYECO IV, LEYECO V, ESAMELCO, BILECO, NORSAMELCO, SAMELCO I, SAMELCO II, BLCI, BOHECO I, and BOHECO II.
NGCP said the schedule for possible load dropping may still be cancelled if system conditions improve, particularly if actual demand drops below projected levels.
The grid operator also urged the public to practice prudent electricity use while the system remains under stress.
Energy authorities have been closely monitoring the Visayas grid following reports of multiple generation units being unavailable, contributing to the tight supply situation that triggered the red alert classification.
The combination of high demand and reduced available capacity has raised concerns of localized power interruptions, particularly during late afternoon and evening peak hours when consumption typically spikes.
Local officials and utility providers are expected to issue further advisories as the situation develops, with consumers encouraged to monitor announcements from their respective distribution utilities for possible load management schedules.
Photo courtesy of The Independent
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