Prime Infrastructure plants tapped to supply power after outages

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April 20, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The government has tapped three major natural gas plants operated by Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. to dispatch additional capacity to the Luzon grid after several power plants experienced forced outages, triggering a yellow alert across the grid last week.

“Oil-based Bauang plants, First Gen’s natural gas plants (Sta. Rita, San Gabriel and Avion), coal-fired power plants (GNPD, Pagbilao and OPPL) generation were increased to fulfill the demand,” the Department of Energy said in an advisory.

The natural gas plants are now operated by Prime CoreGen, a subsidiary of Prime Infra, following its acquisition of a majority stake in the plants from First Gen in 2025.

Prime CoreGen’s power facilities – 1,000 MW Sta. Rita, 450 MW San Gabriel, and 97 MW Avion – operated at approximately 95 percent generating capacity.

The DOE said it remains on heightened monitoring while implementing measures to protect grid stability and minimize disruption as system conditions continue to evolve.

The DOE also instructed National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), generation companies and system operators to expedite the return of affected units, stabilize supply and prevent further impacts on consumers.

NGCP placed the Luzon grid under a yellow alert from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday after electricity demand rose to 11,966 megawatts, against available capacity of 12,223 MW.

NGCP reported that 35 plants were on forced outage and 14 were operating at derated capacity, leaving a total of 5,137.2 MW unavailable.

A yellow alert is issued when operating reserves fell short of the grid’s required contingency level.

NGCP attributed the raising of yellow alert to the tripping of two major gas plants in Batangas, as well as the unavailability of hydroelectric power plants in Magat, Isabela.

‘Grid alerts expose persistent cracks in Philippine power system’

The country’s electricity system remains vulnerable to disruptions due to its heavy reliance on large power plants, a weakness highlighted by recent grid alerts in Luzon and the Visayas.

This was what the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) underscored after both Luzon and the Visayas experienced grid alerts last Thursday as major power plants went offline.

The ICSC emphasized that the strong dependence on a few large power plants continues to make the country’s energy system “less flexible and unreliable.”

“Even short-term outages or plants operating below normal capacity can quickly reduce available reserves and affect grid stability,” the think tank said.

Limited power reserves in Luzon disrupted electricity imports to the Visayas, also prompting the declaration of a yellow alert.

“This underscores how closely overall system conditions are tied to the performance and location of major generating units,” the ICSC said.

“While these plants contribute to meeting demand, the situation highlights the importance of ensuring that new capacity is planned and distributed in a way that strengthens system resilience and minimizes the impact of localized disruptions,” it added.