Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) representative Yadz Gonzales attributed recent Red and Yellow Grid Alerts in Mindanao to simultaneous operational outages at coal-fired power plants in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental.
Gonzales explained that unannounced plant shutdowns force electric cooperatives to purchase replacement power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) at higher rates.
He criticized the Department of Energy for failing to regulate thermal plant outages, noting that consumers absorb the resulting financial burden on monthly electricity bills.
