MINDANAO continues to maintain adequate capacity and reserves necessary to support electricity demand as of July 29, 2026, the Department of Energy-Mindanao reported on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Darwin Galang, division chief of DOE-Mindanao Electric Power Industry Management Division, said during Tuesday’s regular session that the system has sustained reserve levels throughout the year, which is essential in maintaining grid stability and reducing the risk of service interruptions.
Mindanao’s 2026 power demand peak is 2,775MW as of May 12, 2026, and the average actual available capacity is 3,320MW from Jan-July.
The average reserve levels recorded from January to July 2026 ranged from approximately 729 MW to 1,060 MW, reflecting the continued availability of generating resources in the region.
Galang said this despite recent power plant outages and inter-island exports that contributed to rising generation costs for local consumers.
During the inquiry, Councilor Louie John Bonguyan, committee chairperson on energy, questioned why local consumers, particularly in Davao City, continue to face elevated electricity bills despite Mindanao’s persistent power surplus and diverse generation mix.
Galang clarified that the reported gross reserves account for power transfers to the Visayas grid via the inter-island interconnection.
“Apektado po tayo dun sa export ng ating power dun sa Visayas. So, parang magiging nagiging additional load sya dun sa ating Mindanao grid,” he said.
He explained that when major power plants undergo unexpected outages, the available reserve capacity thins, such as incidents in June that triggered yellow alerts.
Galang said under the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) rules, power generation units are dispatched in order of their bid prices.
When cheap baseload capacity becomes unavailable, grid operators are forced to run more expensive diesel-fired plants to meet demand and preserve system stability.
“These necessitate the operation of our much more expensive plants, like the diesel plants. Nakakatakbo po yung mga mas mahal na planta, which affected the prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market,” Galang told the council.
He added that distribution utilities exposed to WESM price spikes pass these generation charges directly to consumer bills, hence the higher electricity rates.
Galang also outlined incoming generation projects scheduled across Mindanao to accommodate rising power requirements.
This includes 30 power generation projects slated for deployment from 2026 to 2031, expected to contribute an additional 1,324 MW to the grid, under committed projects.
Meanwhile, under indicative projects, 37 proposed projects are undergoing evaluation, representing a potential total capacity of 3,257 MW.
Galang said the upcoming power projects comprise a mix of renewable energy (RE) and non-renewable baseload facilities to support long-term regional energy security.
“Should these projects be realized, this will add more uh to the energy security of the Mindanao grid,” Galang stressed.
