THE Department of Energy (DoE) will issue show-cause orders (SCOs) to 175 generation corporations over prolonged unplanned outages and other violations which have strained the country’s power supply.
At a briefing on Monday, Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said the department will issue SCOs to 164 generation corporations operating in on-grid areas and 11 in off-grid areas.
“This can be a reminder to generation corporations that they’re public service [providers]. As a public service [provider], you might have an obligation to deliver to the people what’s in demand, what is required, in accordance together with your contract with the distribution utility,” she said.
Gabriel B. Corpuz, DoE legal officer, said a lot of the corporations that may receive SCOs are in Luzon, with about 60 to 80 generation corporations having didn’t deliver their committed capacities.
He added that about 20 firms within the Visayas and 40 in Mindanao can even be asked to clarify.
“A lot of the violations were forced outages, prolonged deratings, and failure to deliver the committed capacities,” Mr. Corpuz said.
He also cited the failure of generation corporations to submit self-assessment forms covering the period from March 31, 2025, to March 31, 2026, as required under a DoE circular issued in February 2026.
The circular covers generation corporations, recent power providers, microgrid service providers, the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), distribution utilities, and native government units operating generation facilities.
Under the circular, noncompliant generation corporations may face administrative sanctions starting from the submission of corrective motion plans and fines to the suspension of their authority to operate, blacklisting from DoE auctions or programs, or the issuance of cease-and-desist orders.
Asked in regards to the possible impact of suspending or canceling the operating authority of power generators on electricity supply, Ms. Garin said enforcement actions could be carried out rigorously.
“It would be done out on the forefront, but consumer protection must come first. We’d like to be sure that consumers have electricity day in and day trip, which is why every case have to be rigorously planned,” she said.
Ms. Garin declined to discover the businesses that may receive SCOs.
“We may give the variety of power plants by region or nevertheless you wish. But for now, I feel we will not be at liberty to provide the names yet simply to avoid any complications,” she said.
Because the start of the 12 months, the Visayas grid has been placed under 45 yellow alerts and five red alerts as a result of the forced outages of several power plants, leading to rotational power interruptions in some areas.
“We are going to implement these rules because, as we have now seen within the Visayas, consumers cannot afford even a minute of interruption — especially in island and off-grid areas, where these providers are the only real source of power and no grid available,” Ms. Garin said.
Meanwhile, the DoE said 40 energy projects with a combined capability of about 1.5 gigawatts have entered industrial operations to date this 12 months.
The projects are a part of the 200 energy projects that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. directed the DoE to fast-track over the following three years.
The department also said 14 additional projects with a combined capability of 371.8 megawatts are within the advanced stages of testing and commissioning and are expected to start industrial operations after completing the remaining technical and regulatory requirements. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera