ERC orders 13 generators to explain excess plant outages in Visayas, Mindanao

MANILA, Nov. 4, 2026 — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Wednesday that it has issued 24 show-cause orders against 13 power generation companies whose plants went offline more often than its reliability rules allow, as frequent supply alerts continue in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The orders, dated Oct. 14, require the firms to explain why their generating units exceeded the commission’s allowable Equivalent Unplanned Outage limits. The ERC said the action is part of its continuing review of plant reliability amid repeated interruptions and high power prices in the two island groups.

The step follows notices of non-compliance the regulator sent on June 11 to 25 generation companies covering 48 units. After evaluating those replies and outage records, the ERC narrowed the case to the 13 firms now facing show-cause orders, SunStar reported.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer listed the companies as Therma Visayas Inc., Therma Mobile Inc., Cleanergy 9 Power Inc., Toledo Power Co., Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI), Energy Development Corp., Bac-Man Geothermal Inc., Meridian Power Inc., Sunwest Water & Electric Company 2 Inc., SPC Island Power Corp., Belgrove Power Corp., Central Azucarera de San Antonio Inc., and Republic Cement & Building Materials Inc.

The ERC said it has not yet received verified responses to the new orders and will rule once it reviews them. Penalties may follow if violations are established, but the commission stressed that proceedings must observe due process and that any sanction must rest on evidence.

Yari Miralao, head of EERI parent LNGPH, told the Inquirer the company would explain that EERI was newly commissioned in 2025 and undergoing stabilization, and that it has been fully running since March 2026.

The Inquirer noted that ERC rules revised in July had already loosened the yardstick, raising allowable unplanned outage days for pulverized coal plants to 32.15 from 16.8 and for combined-cycle plants to 14.35 from 7.7.

On the same day the orders were announced, the grid operator placed the Visayas grid on yellow alert for the evening peak.

What it means for consumers

Unplanned plant outages tighten supply, which can trigger grid alerts, rotational brownouts and higher spot-market prices that flow into bills. The show-cause process does not change rates directly, but it could lead to penalties on plants found in breach.