Manila: Grid alerts in the Visayas and Mindanao are expected to be partly addressed this month as several power plants are scheduled to resume operations, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said on Monday. According to Philippines News Agency, data released by the DOE during an online briefing showed that Unit 1 of the Cebu Energy Development Corporation resumed operations on Sept. 5, while Unit 1 of the Therma Visayas Inc. is set to return to operations on Sept. 15 and Unit 3 of Panay Energy Development Corporation by Oct. 3.

For the Mindanao grid, Unit 2 of Therma South Inc. will be back in operation by Sept. 8 and Unit 1 by Sept. 19, and Unit 2 of GNPower Kauswagan by Sept. 20. The resumption of these power-generating units is expected to provide additional capacity to grids that have been under yellow and red alerts until Monday.

Data from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines showed that the Visayas grid recorded 96 yellow alerts and 33 red alerts since the start of the year, while the Mindanao grid recorded 12 yellow and three red alerts until Monday. Additional supply is expected from battery energy storage system (BESS) to be provided by private generation companies, Garin said.

A total of 253 megawatts of BESS capacity is expected for the Visayas grid, from facilities to be installed in Cebu, Panay, Negros, and Leyte. The DOE chief said the low power supply situation in the Visayas is 'unacceptable' but assured consumers that regulators and other stakeholders 'are treating it with utmost urgency.'

'We are restoring power fast, adding backup capacity, and holding accountable anyone -- power plant or grid operator -- who is slowing that down,' she said, pointing out that 'the most expensive electricity is no electricity at all.' "We want it fixed before we get to the part on accountability. Our first job is to stabilize the Visayas grid as fast as possible,' she added.