Dennis Gasgonia

540,000 Meralco customers affected by rotational brownouts

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

Utility company Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said that it rotated power interruptions in some areas after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) went on red alert in Luzon on Friday.Meralco said the &quot;manual load dropping (MLD)&quot; lasted approximately three 3 hours in some areas.&quot;As of 6:00 PM, more than 540,000 customers in parts of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Quezon and Rizal have been affected,&quot; said Meralco in a statement.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/5/13/meralco-implements-rotating-brownouts-as-luzon-grid-goes-on-red-alert-1621">Meralco implements rotating brownouts as Luzon grid goes on Red Alert; other regions also affected</a></div>&quot;For the list of areas that may still be affected by the MLD, please refer to this <a href="https://company.meralco.com.ph/news-and-advisories/yellow-and-red-alert-locations">link</a>.&quot;Meralco said it received help from &quot;big-load customers&quot; under its Interruptible Load Program (ILP) — with a collective de-loading capacity of close to 300 MW — to manage the power fluctuations.&quot;We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain committed to managing the system,&quot; said Meralco.Widespread power cuts struck the country on Friday, leaving millions without electricity in the tropical nation&#x27;s hottest month of the year. The Luzon and Visayas grids experienced red and yellow alerts again.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/5/15/luzon-visayas-grids-on-red-yellow-alert-anew-on-friday-0938">Brownouts roll across Luzon, Visayas</a></div>A yellow alert means plants are producing less than the grid&#x27;s contingency requirement. Red alert means generation is lower than demand, prompting rolling power outages.The NGCP said that in Luzon, 17 plants have been on forced outage since May. One plant has been out since April, while 3 have been out since March. One plant has been out since February, and three have been out since January.Aside from Luzon, several areas in Visayas were also affected by the manual load dropping.

Utility company Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said that it rotated power interruptions in some areas after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) went on red alert in Luzon on Friday.

Utility company Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said that it rotated power interruptions in some areas after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) went on red alert in Luzon on Friday.