Rotational brownouts could be gone this week with top officials of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the National Power Corporation (NPC) arriving this Wednesday, June 10, 2026, to switch on six diesel gensets the latter contracted as an interim measure.
NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda and NPC President and CEO Jericho Jonas B. Nograles is likely to be accompanied by TGP Partylist Rep. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr., who had asked NPC to provide immediate response to the power crisis in Catanduanes.
The two national officials are also asking Isla Dagyab Energy Corporation to speed up work on its EPSA 2 gensets so that it would also be switched on the same day.
In their meeting last week, NPC reportedly agreed to procure 5 megawatts for the Catanduanes grid through negotiated bidding held last Friday, June 5.
Only two companies expressed interest – Aggreko Energy Rental Solutions, Inc. and S.C. Megaworld Construction and Development Corporation.
However, Aggreko, which is the supplier of the containerized gensets being installed by Isla Dagyab Energy Corporation at the FICELCO compound under EPSA 2, later begged off from participating in the bid as it could not meet the three-day deployment deadline by June 10.
Disqualified EPSA 2 bidder S.C. Megaworld, owned by former Congressman Hector S. Sanchez, finally gained a foothold in the local power industry as it won the Napocor bidding for the emergency power.
It got the short-term contract on the basis of its lease of six gensets previously rented by Sunwest Water & Electricity Co. (SUWECO) under the 1st Emergency Power Supply Agreement that expired last May 15,
The gensets, which would provide 5 megawatts of power, were being transferred as of Sunday presstime from SUWECO’s Solong Diesel Power Plant in San Miguel to the NPC compound in Marinawa where it would be installed.
The welcome development also came after Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza visited the Department of Energy (DOE), NPC and NEA to appeal for short-term and long-term solutions to the rotational brownouts.
Last June 1, in reaction to the urgent requests for assistance, the DOE directed the NEA to coordinate with the NPC to fast-track the deployment of emergency generator sets to Catanduanes to mitigate the power deficit as an interim measure.
In a directive to NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda, DOE Secretary Sharon S. Garin also ordered NEA to intervene on behalf of FICELCO for the immediate engagement and operation of the emergency power supplier; provide necessary support to FRICELCO to help them manage the power crisis and prevent further degradation of service; assist in the expedited and transparent conduct of the CSP for the long term and stable supply in Catanduanes relative to its increasing power demand; and all other appropriate measures to provide sufficient, reliable and affordable electric power supply to the province.
Informed of the daily 12-hour rotational blackouts in the province, the Energy Secretary said this level of power instability has become an untenable burden as it severely disrupts local economic activities, paralyzes the delivery of basic social and health services, and undermines the safety of residents.
“The current situation indicates that FICELCO cannot, on its own, resolve the power woes in its franchise area,” she said, reminding NEA that in cases where an electric cooperative is unable to provide an adequate power supply due to generation shortfalls or operational constraints, the NEA is empowered to intervene, provide technical assistance or mandate corrective measures to restore service reliability.
Garin cited Section 26 of DOE Department Circular No. DC2026-02-0006 which provides that NEA shall, among others, extend technical, legal and institutional guidance to ECs in the implementation and enforcement of their rights, privileges, and remedies under applicable power supply agreements and related agreements with regards to the generation companies in their franchise.
The favorable development came as personnel of Isla Dagyab were working overtime to install modular diesel generators at a vacant lot inside the FICELCO headquarters in Marinawa, Bato in a bid to fulfill its “best effort” pledge to start commercial operations by Monday, June 15, 2026.
This is keeping with the 2nd Emergency Power Supply Agreement it signed with the management of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) for the supply of eight (8) megawatts of “guaranteed dependable capacity and N-1” electricity, with a “guaranteed energy” of 5.4 mW.
The EPSA 2 will run for a period of one (1) year or until the cooperative has selected a new power supplier for 24 mW of energy under a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) expected to commence this July.
The proposed power plant consists of nine (9) 1.25mVA modular diesel gensets, which were supposed to arrive Saturday evening, June 6, along with a 200,000-liter fuel storage tank.
However, the containerized diesel generators began arriving by late Friday afternoon, with some of the units stranded at Tabaco port due to the limited number of ferry trips that could accommodate the trailer trucks on which the equipment were loaded.
Power industry sources said that from arrival, the gensets would take three to four days to install, plus another two to three days of testing prior to commercial operation.
As to the balance of the required 500,000-liter storage capacity, the company will be storing fuel contracted with Shell Philippines at the depot of Powerzone Petroleum Products Corporation, which will likewise handle delivery of the fuel to the Marinawa power plant.
The nine gensets that arrived last Friday was apparently rented by Isla Dagyab from Aggreko Energy Rental Solutions, Inc. based in Taguig City and the Philippine subsidiary of Aggreko, a global supplier of mobile and modular power, temperature control equipment and energy services, headquartered in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Among its equipment offered for rental are containerised diesel generators as well as canopy gensets for emergencies and planned projects.
According to the company website, each canopy diesel generator has a fuel capacity of 706 liters and is capable of running for 95 hours at 100 percent load.
NEA reportedly wants both the NPC and Isla Dagyab gensets to begin operation on June 10.
Congressman Eulogio R. Rodriguez also dropped by the power plant site to check on the progress being made by Isla Dagyab personnel.
Meanwhile, the FICELCO management, along with the Atty. Jeho Edric F. Fajardo, the Project Supervisor designated by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), assured all Member-Consumer-Owners (MCOs) affected by the on-going power crisis that it is exerting all efforts to restore stable electricity service and minimize disruptions to households, businesses, and essential institutions in the province.