President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday declared that Siquijor now has a stable power supply after the government and a local cooperative took over electricity operations in the province, following recurring brownouts caused by system failures.
Mr. Marcos led the ceremonial switch-on of the 17.8-megawatt New Siquijor Diesel Power Plants at the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (PROSIELCO) in the municipality of Larena.
The three new facilities—4.4 MW in Larena, 6.6 MW in Lazi, and 6.8 MW in Siquijor—were installed after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) revoked the authority of Siquijor Island Power Corp. (SIPCOR) to operate due to multiple violations amid the island’s continued supply problems.
The president said the island’s total power supply has now reached 17.8 megawatts, well above its current demand of about nine megawatts.
He credited the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the ERC, PROSIELCO and its fellow electric cooperatives from Cebu for restoring and stabilizing electricity services.
“We had to take over the operations of SIPCOR for the simple reason that we did not see any improvement in their provision of electricity,” he said during his visit.
“Now, I can confidently proclaim that Siquijor has enough supply. The system still needs improvements, but the power is already there,” the president added.
President Marcos recalled that when he last visited Siquijor, the government had to ship in generators from Palawan to ease outages. But shortly after, one of SIPCOR’s units failed, plunging the island back into brownouts.
To stabilize the grid, the DOE mobilized additional generators and manpower, including volunteer linemen from Cebu.
President Marcos also stressed the need to anticipate future demand, warning that power surpluses can quickly vanish as communities grow.
“In Ilocos Norte, when we had 35 megawatts in the early 2000s, we thought it would last five years. In less than three, it was already consumed. That is how it is with power and infrastructure,” he said.
The president assured residents that the government would continue investing in Siquijor’s energy system to prevent further disruptions.
“Hopefully, I won’t need to come back because the system will already be working smoothly,” he said.
