CERA warns of power risks as demand surges

Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (CERA) is urging provincial authorities to overhaul the island’s energy strategy, warning that heavy reliance on waste-to-energy (WTE) projects has failed to provide grid stability and has heightened public safety risks at a time when power demand is accelerating.

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Nathaniel Chua, convenor of CERA, said Cebu needs to shift toward firm, island-based baseload power plants as the backbone of its energy mix, arguing that waste-dependent generation cannot support a rapidly expanding economy. Electricity demand in Cebu is increasing by about 150 megawatts a year, while available reserves frequently fall below the 200-megawatt buffer considered necessary to prevent voltage instability.

“Public safety must come first,” Chua said, adding that while CERA supports diversifying the power mix and remains open to WTE as a supplementary option, such projects should not be treated as core solutions for grid reliability.

The warning comes as Cebu approaches what CERA describes as a critical energy phase in 2026, when the grid will require non-intermittent power insulated from fluctuations in waste supply and weather-related disruptions.