Amid outages, 20 power generating firms in Visayas told to explain

Local

CEBU, Philippine - The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to issue show-cause orders to a total of 175 generation companies for potential violations of the Public Service Act and related laws, with at least 20 of those based in the Visayas.

The Department of Energy (DOE) made the announcement on Monday, June 29, as the Visayas grid continues to grapple with a strained power supply situation.

"This is just a start," DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said. "There are generation companies that we have observed are not compliant — for example, on the stock levels of their fuel. We will enforce the rules on this, because as we have seen what is happening in Visayas, our consumers cannot afford any minute of interruption."

The show-cause orders stem from the DOE's circular titled Policy on Accountability of Entities Engaged in Power Generation.

Under the circular, generation companies were required to submit a self-assessment form reporting their compliance with operational and technical standards.

The deadline, originally set on March 31, was extended to April 24. Yet a total of 164 on-grid, including 11 off-grid companies still failed to comply, according to Garin.

The covered assessment period runs from March of last year to March of this year.

By region, Luzon accounts for the largest share, with roughly 60 to 80 generation companies set to receive orders.

Mindanao follows with approximately 40, while around 20 are from the Visayas.

The most common violations cited include forced outages, prolonged capacity derations, and failure to deliver contracted capacities.

These factors, officials said, have directly contributed to power supply disruptions across the country, particularly in the Visayas.

DOE Legal Services' Attorney Gab Corpus clarified that the issuance of a show-cause order does not constitute a finding of guilt.

Companies will be given the opportunity to explain their situation, consistent with due process.

"If they cannot satisfactorily explain, then the DOE, together with the whole energy family including NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) and NPC (National Power Corporation), will plan out what to do with each and every generation company,” said Garin.

Sanctions may include cease-and-desist orders, blacklisting from government supply procurement programs, and cancellation of a company's permit to operate.

Officials stressed, however, that any such cancellation would not be done hastily, and that consumer protection would be the foremost consideration in every case.

The DOE said it would release a formal press statement with more detailed information on the affected companies.(RBE)