The National Power Corporation has not categorically agreed to an official request that it resume operations in Catanduanes until a new power supplier of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. is selected.
Instead, it told FICELCO management to implement contingency measures to ensure reliable power supply especially in cases of generation shortfall, including the continuation or extension of the existing Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with Sunwest Water & Electric Co,
“…NAPOCOR may act as the Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR) only under conditions where generation facilities fail to operate reliably and the concerned Distribution Utility is unable to assume the required supply obligations due to technical, financial, or institutional constraints,” NPC President and CEO Jericho Jonas B. Nograles informed the cooperative management.
Through a Board Resolution approved on March 11, 2026, the FICELCO Board had appealed to NPC to resume and supply power in Catanduanes as part of its mandate under the Electric Power Industry Rehabilitation Act (EPIRA) until a new power provider is selected through a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) and commences operation.
The board said that the interim resumption of NAPOCOR’s operation as a power supplier in Catanduanes is necessary, lawful, and justified to ensure continuity, reliability and affordability of electricity supply.
The Terms of Reference (TOR) remain under review at the National Electrification Administration (NEA) after one of the two bidders raised issues with certain provisions during the pre-bid conference last December 2025.
In his reply, the NPC president acknowledged the current supply challenged in the province and recognized the urgency of implementing sustainable and reliable solutions.
It encouraged FICELCO to expedite the CSP to enable the timely engagement of a qualified New Power Provider (NPP) and recommended that it pursue appropriate replacement capacity arrangements to address the existing supply deficiency.
On the expiring EPSA, Pres. Nograles recommended the immediate extension of the existing agreement or the adoption of suitable interim measures to ensure continuity of service while awaiting the completion of the CSP.
According to an industry source, NPC would need around a billion pesos in funding, which it does not have at this time, to resume power generation operations in the Catanduanes grid and the process itself would take a year to complete.