Prime Infra gas plants tapped as Luzon goes on red alert
MANILA, Philippines — Natural gas plants operated by PrimeCoreGen were dispatched at high capacity on Wednesday after widespread power plant outages prompted the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to raise the country’s first red alert status for 2026, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE said nearly 4,000 megawatts (MW) of power capacity became unavailable after forced outages hit dozens of generating facilities across Luzon, tightening reserves and increasing the risk of rotational brownouts.
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Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said PrimeCoreGen’s natural gas facilities, formerly under First Gen and now majority-owned by Prime Infra, were among the plants tapped to help stabilize the grid during the critical period.
“PrimeCoreGen / First Gen natural gas plants were actively dispatched during the period. Sta. Rita and Ilijan units exhibited sustained high utilization, EERI units showed stable mid-to-high loading, San Gabriel operated at moderate levels, and Avion units remained at relatively low but consistent output levels,” Guevara said in a text message to reporters.
PrimeCoreGen currently operates First Gen’s natural gas portfolio following Prime Infra’s acquisition of a majority stake in the facilities in 2025. These include the 1,000-MW Sta. Rita plant, the 450-MW San Gabriel facility and the 97-MW Avion plant.
The NGCP issued the red alert after 3,942.8 MW of capacity became unavailable due to forced outages affecting at least 48 power plants.
Among the largest outages were Ilijan A and Ilijan B, which each lost 600 MW of capacity, as well as EERI Units 1, 2 and 3, which accounted for more than 1,260 MW of unavailable supply combined.
Masinloc Unit 3 also went offline, removing 307.2 MW from the grid during the critical period.
Other affected plants included:
- Malaya Unit 1 (300 MW)
- Malaya Unit 2 (130 MW)
- San Roque Unit 2 (145 MW)
- Magat Unit 2 (97 MW)
- Magat Unit 4 (97 MW)
- Limay Unit 8 (90 MW)
- Casecnan Unit 1 (82.5 MW)
- Binga Unit 3 (35 MW)
- Binga Unit 4 (35 MW)
- Botocan (23 MW)
- Bacman US (20 MW)
- Several biomass, hydroelectric and renewable energy facilities with smaller capacities
Another 738.8 MW could not be supplied to the grid because several plants were operating at derated, or reduced, capacity levels. These included Sual Unit 1 (270 MW), Pagbilao Unit 3 (330 MW), Tiwi (14 MW) and Tiwi C (68 MW), Makban A (67 MW), Makban B (84 MW), Makban D (26.5 MW), Makban E (19 MW), Masinloc Units 1 and 2 (305 MW each), SCPC Unit 1 (120 MW) and GMEC Unit 2 (305 MW).
During the period, the Luzon grid had an available capacity of 14,153 MW against a peak demand of 13,558 MW, leaving an operating reserve margin of only 595 MW.
NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said the grid operator issued a yellow alert from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, then escalated it to a red alert from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Another yellow alert was later raised from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Under NGCP protocols, a yellow alert is issued when operating reserves fall below required contingency levels, although supply remains sufficient to meet demand. A red alert, the highest warning level, is declared when supply can no longer adequately meet demand and reserve requirements.
During red alert conditions, rotational brownouts may be implemented in selected areas to prevent a wider grid collapse.
The grid situation remained tight on Thursday, with NGCP again placing Luzon and Visayas under red and yellow alerts due to insufficient supply and thin reserves.
In an advisory issued Thursday morning, NGCP said the Luzon grid would be under red alert from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., while yellow alerts would take effect from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The Luzon grid recorded an available capacity of 12,479 MW against a peak demand of 12,595 MW.
READ: NGCP warns of possible brownouts as grids hit red, yellow alert levels
NGCP said 17 power plants in Luzon have been on forced outage since March 2026, while three have been offline since 2025, two since 2024 and one since 2019. Fourteen other plants were running at reduced capacity.
The outages and derated operations resulted in 4,242.5 MW becoming unavailable to the Luzon grid, according to NGCP.
The Visayas grid was also placed under red alert from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, with yellow alerts from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Available capacity in the Visayas grid stood at 2,413 MW, lower than the projected peak demand of 2,541 MW.
According to NGCP, 11 plants in the Visayas have been on forced outage since March 2026, while four have been offline since 2025, two since 2024, two since 2023 and one since 2021. Twelve other plants were operating at derated levels, resulting in 866.7 MW unavailable to the grid. /dm
