A consumer advocacy group has issued a stark warning that Cebu is heading towards a critical power supply situation in 2026, threatening to disrupt the island's economic engine and public safety.
Demand Outstrips Local Supply
The Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (Cera), led by convenor Nathaniel Chua, revealed that Cebu's power demand is growing by approximately 150 megawatts every year. This rapid growth has already surpassed the island's local generation capacity, forcing a deeper and more precarious reliance on electricity imported from other islands via submarine cables.
This warning aligns with an earlier alert from the Department of Energy (DOE), which flagged a potential critical power situation for the entire Visayas region in 2026. The news has raised significant concerns among manufacturers and exporters operating in Cebu, a cornerstone of the Philippines' industrial landscape.
Economic and Safety Consequences
Business leaders on the island are already feeling the strain. Recurring yellow alerts and limitations on power-sharing agreements are driving up operating costs and causing disruptive delays in production schedules. Cera emphasized that without the urgent addition of new, stable baseload power plants on the island, Cebu's robust economic momentum could slow dramatically this year.
The risks extend far beyond the boardroom. The group highlighted severe public safety dangers linked to power instability, specifically the failure of fire hydrants during outages. Fire crews in Cebu City have reported incidents of low to zero water pressure in hydrants along major roads. Cera attributes this critical failure to power disruptions that knock out the pumping stations operated by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
Calls for Immediate Action
To avert the looming crisis, Cera has called for a multi-pronged approach:
- The immediate development of island-based baseload power plants to reduce dependence on vulnerable inter-island power links.
- Prioritizing dedicated and backup power lines for MCWD pumping facilities to ensure continuous water pressure for fire protection and public use.
- A demand for the DOE and local utilities to present a clear and transparent roadmap to prevent the projected 2026 supply shortfalls from triggering widespread and prolonged blackouts.
The group stresses that proactive measures are essential to safeguard Cebu's economy and the well-being of its residents from the severe impacts of an unstable power grid.
