Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines — The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) strongly urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to penalize erring generation companies (GenCos) that failed to comply with the mandatory reportorial requirements under the agency’s own Power Generator Accountability Policy.
This urgent demand follows the issuance of Show Cause Orders (SCOs) to 203 non-compliant GenCos nationwide, including 174 on-grid and 29 off-grid operators that failed to submit vital operational data. PMCJ emphasizes that DOE Department Circular (DC) No. 2026-02-0006 grants the government explicit authority to act swiftly against these delinquent corporate entities to protect public interest.
PMCJ asserted that ongoing forced and planned outages at a critical subset of these baseload coal plants and microgrids have resulted in exorbitant monthly residential electricity bills for ordinary consumers. Across the Mindanao grid, chronic shutdowns forced local distribution utilities to absorb highly volatile price spikes from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) or trigger expensive diesel-powered peaking plants just to prevent catastrophic blackouts.
“Consumers are paying a heavy price for the operational failures and regulatory defiance of these power corporations,” said Daisy Aballe, PMCJ Mindanao coordinator. “We demand that the DOE file immediate administrative and criminal cases against non-responsive GenCos and coal operators, publish the complete list of facilities currently under review, and provide a definitive timeline for penalties. The DOE must prioritize and confirm the active compliance and SCO tracking status of the specific facilities heavily linked to grid instability,” she added.
Families serviced by the Davao Light and Power Company faced steep generation charges after sudden safety trips at Therma South Inc. and prolonged shutdowns at San Miguel Global Power- Malita stripped power from the local mix. From PHP 11.72/kWh in January, it jumped to PHP 12.30/kWh in June. Concurrently, consumers under the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (Cepalco) absorbed replacement costs due to repeated operational shortfalls at the Minergy Power Corporation-Balingasag Power Station, from January’s rate of PHP 10.91 to a peak of PHP 13.89 in April, then to PHP 12.30 in June. Households within the Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (Dasureco) franchise area suffered heavy grid surcharges because of multi-day shutdowns at both the San Miguel Global Power- Malita Coal Plant and the Sarangani Energy Corporation facility. Dasureco’s rate was hiked from PHP 10.21/kWh in January to PHP 10.85/kWh in June.
“Lisud na mo budget kay ga mahal na run ang kuryente, ga lisud na mi sa balay kay imbes mag rice cooker, mag tak-ang na lang sa kalayo, [It’s hard to budget because electricity is getting expensive, we have difficulty at home because instead of using a rice cooker, we instead cook over an open flame],” said Richard Salvame, a Cepalco consumer. “Imbes namalit ta og mga appliances para ma hayahay ang buhat panimalay, ni balik naman lang ta hinuon og mano-mano [We bought appliances to make life household chores easier; we reverted instead to doing things manually.].”
Anna, a sari-sari store owner in Bukidnon, has this to say: “Kining sige brownout sa Buseco mao ang maka alkanse sa akong negosyo. Halo-halo akon kusong halinon, na unsaon og himo sa ice aning kalakiha? [These constant brownouts by Buseco are the cause of my business loss. My best seller is Halo-halo, and how will I make ice in this manner?].” Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative, or Buseco, also sources electricity from Therma South Inc.
In light of these ongoing regulatory breaches and the financial burdens imposed on citizens, PMCJ demands that the DOE file immediate administrative and criminal cases against all non-responsive GenCos and coal operators, strictly enforcing the statutory sanctions provided in Section 12 of DC 2026-02-0006.
“A planned and managed phaseout of coal is the most viable path to ensure the Philippines’ long-term energy security, lower electricity costs, and honor international climate commitments. Framing this transition as a strategic economic upgrade instead of a forced shutdown neutralizes opposition from the power sector, reassures consumers worried about persistent and continued power interruptions, and drives the country’s economy toward a stable energy future,” Aballe ended.
