The Philippine Energy Crisis Nobody Wants to Be Accountable For

June 9, 2026 – Partners for Affordable and Reliable Energy welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive for the Department of Energy (DOE) to address recurring power alerts. 

“We welcome the President's call to address the power situation, but recurring red and yellow alerts cannot be blamed on one agency alone. If red and yellow alerts happen almost every year, then this is no longer an energy problem but an Energy Crisis long neglected,” PARE Chief Advocate Officer Nic Satur, Jr. said.

The group stressed that solving the country’s energy problems requires more than reactive measures whenever red and yellow alerts occur.

“This is a shared accountability issue involving Congress, the Senate, energy companies, NGCP, and both Private and electric cooperatives. Perhaps it is time for all of them to explain why consumers continue to suffer the same problems year after year.  Accountability must extend across the entire energy sector,” Satur said. 

Regulators such as the DOE, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and National Electrification Administration (NEA) play a critical role in planning and policy. Still, they are equally responsible for ensuring that energy players comply with laws, standards, and performance obligations.

Beyond regulators, Congress and the Senate must exercise diligence when granting franchises and oversight powers to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and distribution utilities. Transmission operators, generation companies, distribution utilities, and electric cooperatives must also answer for failures that contribute to recurring supply shortages, brownouts, high systems losses and expensive electricity costs.

“If the President is serious about solving the energy crisis, accountability must extend beyond the DOE. Regulators, lawmakers, energy companies, and all institutions entrusted with consumer protection share this responsibility,” Satur said.

PARE emphasized that consumers should no longer be treated as passive observers during energy crises. The group called for active consumer participation in technical working groups, task forces, regulatory proceedings, and independent audits involving all energy players. 

“Consumers ultimately pay for every inefficiency, delay, outage, and pass-on charge in the system. They deserve a meaningful role in shaping reforms and monitoring industry performance,” Satur said.

“We pay for every outage, every delay, every inefficiency, and every pass-on charge in the system. If consumers are expected to shoulder the costs, then we deserve a seat at the table where energy policies, reforms, and accountability measures are being discussed,” Satur said