Rotating brownouts are likely to occur all over the island after May 15, 2026 when the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) expires, taking with it about 20 percent of Catanduanes’ total electricity supply.

Inked last year by the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) and Sunwest Water & Electric Co. (SUWECO), the agreement covers the operation of six diesel gensets with a combined net dependable capacity of 5 megawatts.

From just 10 percent of the total power produced in January 2026, the EPSA gensets’ share has doubled to about 20 percent this April due to the shrinking production of the two SUWECO hydroelectric power plants and the National Power Corporation’s Balongbong hydro plant caused by lack of rain in the last two months.

Diesel gensets, all of them operated by SUWECO, account for more than 90 percent of electricity generated in the island, records show.

The expiration of the agreement will lead to a deficit of about 1.2 megawatts, equivalent to electricity consumed by 12,000 homes based on an average consumption of 100 kilowatthours.

According to informed sources, at least two companies have submitted bids for the second EPSA as of last week, with the cooperative’s Bids & Awards Committee (BAC) set to evaluate the proposals and submit recommendations to the Board of Directors.

Negotiations for EPSA 2 will commence once the board selects the ‘winner’ based on the criteria.

How fast the selected supplier can mobilize will also depend on how fast the board can award the contract.

Normally, it takes six to eight weeks for a power company to secure, transport and install modular gensets in a particular area, according to an official of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), but the timeline could be whittled down to two weeks.

Assuming the agreement is signed by May 15, the entire island grid of Catanduanes would be suffering from rotational power outages until the modular gensets are set up and commissioned by the new EPSA supplier.

For two weeks now, the nearly 62,000 member-consumer-owners of FICELCO have been apprehensive of a power blackout after SUWECO twice announced that it would temporarily shut down its generating plants due to financial difficulties.

Last April 21, the company informed FICELCO that it would suspend operations of its diesel power plants the next day due to significant escalation in fuel costs, UCME subsidy payments no longer sufficient to offset higher power costs, continued delay in the disbursement of subsidy funds by NPC, and the latter’s non-payment of more than P400 million in subsidy claims.

An emergency meeting between FICELCO General Manager Francis Gianan, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda, NPC President Jericho Jonas Nograles, and other officials from NPC led to the NPC’s payment of P65 million in subsidies to SUWECO.

The officials also discussed the possibility of diesel fuel from the Philippine National Oil Company PNOC) being supplied through NPC to SUWECO at a discounted price.

This, along with payments of power billings made by FICELCO, allowed the company to purchase 350,000 liters of diesel that would run its power plants for a week.

Last Apil 29, SUWECO management again informed the cooperative of a critical fuel situation that would necessitate suspension of diesel power plant operations on May 1, citing the same reasons.

It stressed that its existing receivables from NPC and FICELCO have already been allotted and guaranteed for its previous fuel procurements, limiting the company’s ability for new procurements.

“While solutions are being explored and offered by the NPC, DOE, and PNOC, this may not be executed in haste and will require coordination and negotiation before the actual negotiations,” the management emphasized.

The matter is complicated by the alleged inability of the SUWECO board, most members of whom are reportedly abroad due to the flood control probe, to authorize any official to sign any agreement.

The letter reiterated its call for assistance from FICELCO regarding mitigating measures which may help extend further the operation of its plants, citing the possibility of suspending operations if the problem continues to persist and if no financial relief or subsidy adjustment is extended.

Last Thursday, the scheduled May 1 shutdown was averted after SUWECO confirmed the delivery of diesel fuel for its power plants that would last until Sunday, May 3.

Twenty thousand liters were delivered on April 30, followed by another 68,000 liters on May 1, with the company reportedly awaiting Unioil’s approval of a purchase order for 500,000 liters of diesel good enough for a week’s operation.

The other week, FICELCO paid P20 million to SUWECO to enable it to buy fuel as well as another P12 million last week, charged to the company’s power billings to the cooperative for the period of March 25 to April 25, 2026 to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply.

Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza, who was in Manila on May 29, immediately sought a meeting with NPC officials who said that contrary to reports, they are not remiss in their payments for current subsidy billings of SUWECO.

The state power firm also clarified that the P400 million subsidy claim is still under evaluation and that their records show that the past UCME billings amount to only P280 million and are still subject to confirmation.

On the other hand, NPC has already completed its review of the revised Terms of Reference of FICELCO’s long-delayed Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a new power provider of 24 megawatts of electricity, with the same document now undergoing the same review process at NEA.

In the meeting, it was bared that PNOC is now ready to supply discounted diesel fuel to SUWECO, with fuel paid for by NPC charged to SUWECO’s monthly UCME subsidy while FICELCO will take care of the hauling cost, with the payment to be offset against its monthly payments to SUWECO.