Energy dep’t receives no response from 121 GenCos issued show-cause orders

SOME 121 power generation companies (GenCos) have not responded to show-cause orders (SCOs) issued by the Department of Energy (DoE), which is currently exploring further investigation and potential penalties.

At a briefing on Monday, Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said the DoE sent SCOs to 203 generation companies but received replies from a little over 40% of them.

Of the 29 firms operating off grid, seven did not submit replies.

Sixty have taken action — either by submitting self-assessment forms, requesting extensions, or acknowledging receipt of the orders.

Ms. Garin said the department will take action against the non-responsive companies, with action contemplated including cancellation of their permits.

“The fact that the generation company did not respond to a show-cause order by DoE is already a violation in itself,” Ms. Garin said.

She said non-responsive GenCos will be subject to more inspections for “actual violations of their power supply agreements and their permit to operate as a generation company.”

The DoE recently issued a circular seeking to strengthen the accountability of GenCos to help keep the supply of electricity reliable.

The circular required GenCos to submit self-assessment forms covering the period between March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

Noncompliant GenCos may face administrative sanctions ranging from the submission of corrective action plans and fines to the suspension of their authority to operate, blacklisting from DoE auctions or programs, or the issuance of cease-and-desist orders.

Serious violations will warrant sanctions as severe as permit revocation, Ms. Garin said, adding however that such actions will be taken carefully to prevent destabilizing the grid.

“If there are violations we will make sure that they get the penalties they (deserve), but at the same time, (we need to) make sure there are no additional interruptions,” she said.

Energy Undersecretary Mario S. Marasigan clarified that issuing of SCOs to generation companies does not imply blame for the recurring forced outages.

“(An SCO) just means that they failed to submit the required annual self-assessment form,” he said. “If they comply, the DoE will still have to assess their submissions and determine if there are violations.”

The DoE’s crackdown on GenCos follows instability on the Visayas grid after outages at several power plants and derated operations at some others.

After nearly two months of yellow alerts, the power situation in the Visayas grid has stabilized following the return of power plants that had been shut down.

“This ends nearly two months of recurring supply warnings that began in May and reflects a welcome improvement in the region’s operating reserves, reducing the risk of rotating power interruptions,” Ms. Garin said.

“This is encouraging news for households, businesses, and industries across the Visayas and is a result of continuous cooperation between the DoE and our energy partners,” she added.

Since the start of the year, the Visayas grid has been placed on yellow alert 47 times, in addition to five red alerts, resulting in rotational power interruptions. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera