If you experienced a nearly three-hour brownout on May 13, you’re not alone. And unfortunately, it might happen again today. Last May 13, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) raised the Luzon grid to Red Alert and Yellow Alert status, prompting Meralco to implement “manual load dropping” across several areas. In plain terms: there wasn’t enough power to go around, so electricity had to be cut in rotations across different areas. Over 200,000 consumers were affected, many of whom had no idea it was coming. Now, NGCP has issued the same alerts for May 14 — which means rotating brownouts could hit your area again today.

NGCP raises Luzon Grid Alert Status on May 14

On May 14, NGCP has once again placed the Luzon Grid under:

• Red Alert from 4 PM to 10 PM: Power supply is not enough to meet current demand. Rotating brownouts are likely during this window.
• Yellow Alert from 3 PM to 4 PM, and 10 PM to 11 PM: The grid is running on thin reserves. No brownouts yet, but the situation is being closely monitored.

According to NGCP, Luzon’s peak demand is 12,595MW, while available capacity is only 12,479MW.

The advisory shared that a number of power plants have been on forced outage since January 2026, while 14 plants are on derated capacity, totaling 4,242.5MW unavailable to the grid.

The Visayas Grid has also been placed under Red and Yellow Alerts.

Which areas will be affected?

NGCP and Meralco have yet to release the specific areas affected by today’s May 14 outage. However, based on Meralco’s advisory from yesterday, May 13, these were the areas that experienced rotating brownouts, which could be hit again:

Bulacan
Calumpit, Marilao, Meycauayan City, Obando, Pulilan

Cavite
Dasmarinas City, General Trias City, Naic, Tanza

Laguna
Bay, Binan City, Calamba City, Calauan, Liliw, Magdalena, Majayjay, Nagcarian, Rizal, San Pablo City, Sta. Cruz, Sta. Rosa City

Metro Manila
Caloocan, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon, Taguig, Valenzuela

Quezon Province
Dolores

Rizal Province
Angono, Taytay

For faster updates on areas that may be affected by the Red and Yellow Alerts, visit Meralco’s website here.

What to do to prepare for rotating brownouts

Summer in the Philippines is the worst time to experience a rotating brownout, but with enough preparation, it can be bearable. Here’s what you can do to prepare:

• Make sure your power banks and gadgets are fully charged
• Fill up water containers and jugs in advance, especially if your building relies on an electric pump
• Keep a flashlight so you’re not scrambling in the dark
• Stock up on snacks that don’t need refrigeration, just in case the outage runs longer than expected
• If you’re working from home, save your files and back up anything important before the alert window kicks in
• Unplug appliances and electronics before the brownout hits to protect them from power surges when electricity is restored
• If you have a refrigerator full of food, keep it closed as much as possible to maintain the temperature during the outage
• Let your household know the expected brownout window so everyone can plan around it

Lastly, monitor the social media pages of Meralco and NGCP to get the latest updates.

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