• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez is preparing a legislation to shield power consumers after revealing that 92 percent of the P3.99 billion spent on reserve power charges across Panay, Guimaras, and Negros in 2025 fell outside contracts approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Speaking during a joint House committee hearing on Visayas grid power outages in Bacolod City on Saturday, Oct. 3, Benitez called out the ERC and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) over how reserve power — known as ancillary services — is sourced and billed to consumers.
According to data from Electric Cooperatives Association-Western Visayas, consumers paid P3.99 billion for reserves in 2025.
Citing NGCP records, Benitez highlighted that only 89 megawatts (MW) of the required 306 MW reserve capacity in the Visayas are currently secured through ERC-approved contracts.
The remaining demand was procured on the spot market, often at inflated crisis rates, with the ERC confirming to lawmakers that consumers will not receive refunds for those expenses.
“That can’t happen again. Our reserves should be bought under contracts the ERC approves, not on the spot market at crisis prices,” Benitez said.
The probe follows a turbulent period for the Visayas power grid, which registered over 120 yellow and red alerts between January and September.
Rising reserve costs have pushed NGCP’s nationwide transmission charges up by 30.85 percent, reaching P1.0391 per kilowatt-hour for the July 2026 billing period.
To prevent further financial strain on households, Benitez urged the immediate suspension of the reserve market if operational flaws cannot be rectified swiftly.
He also called on NGCP to execute pending ancillary contracts, including 253 MW in battery energy storage systems requested by the Department of Energy since June. | GPB
