Power outages during elections have long been linked to fraud, vote tampering and threats to the safety of poll workers. As the 12 May date for the Philippines midterm elections nears, local climate campaigners and energy experts are increasingly concerned that any power disruption on polling day would affect the integrity of the results.
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The Philippines is set to hold its midterm elections for 12 members of the Senate, more than 300 seats in the House of Representatives and nearly 18,000 local officials. Energy security has emerged as a key electoral issue.
A report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) found that consumer hours lost to blackouts and power interruptions have increased at least 10 per cent since 2015. The same study highlighted that power interruptions were more frequent in Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines, while the Visayas – another island cluster – experienced the longest outages. Another PIDS paper found that the average Filipino household experiences 28 electricity supply interruptions in a year.
“Hundreds of power outages are recorded across the country annually, many of them during the summer season. Power supply issues can easily make or break our elections, especially with the technology-dependent systems we have today,” said Krishna Ariola, energy and climate programme lead at local think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
In early March, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) – the country’s primary power grid operator – raised its first yellow alert of the year for the Luzon grid, warning of a higher risk of unplanned plant outages due to record heat and rising demand.
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We cannot have an election at risk of failures because of the failure to secure dependable power. We are one in this call for our energy and other relevant authorities to do their part in preserving electoral integrity.
Atty Ona Caritos, executive director, Legal Network for Truthful Elections
A yellow alert is declared when power reserves fall below safe levels; a red alert is issued if supply can no longer meet demand.
The Department of Energy expects power demand in Luzon to rise by 5.4 per cent this year, and by 16 per cent and 8.2 per cent in the Visayas and Mindanao, respectively.
Ariola said brownouts and power interruptions could expose the vote counting process to tampering.
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections, a non-partisan organisation that advocates for election reform and voter education, also issued a statement raising the same concerns last month. “We cannot have an election at risk of failures because of the failure to secure dependable power,” said Atty Ona Caritos, the network’s executive director.
“Power must be available and stable not only during voting day, but throughout the entire election process. We are one in this call for our energy and other relevant authorities to do their part in preserving electoral integrity,” she said.
Philippines-based international energy policy group, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, noted that blackouts during peak summer months are often triggered by a surge in demand and forced power plant shutdowns. In 2024, CEED also did a study that revealed that over half (51.23 per cent) of forced outages from 2019 to 2023 in the Philippines were caused by coal plant breakdowns, followed by gas plants (19.87 per cent).
Filipino voters are taking notice. A recent Social Weather Stations survey showed that 79 per cent of Filipinos surveyed said they would support a candidate who prioritises energy security and the transition to renewable energy. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of respondents identified climate change and disaster preparedness as a top priority.
The Philippines continues to lag in renewable energy adoption, generating less than a quarter of its power from clean sources. Meanwhile, the country’s coal capacity still grew marginally in the past year despite a moratorium on new coal-fired power projects.
Grassroots solar initiatives
Preventing blackouts in Philippine public schools which have traditionally been utilised as polling stations and protecting teachers who will serve as poll workers on election day are also key priorities.
“Institutions like ours bear the responsibility of helping shape our country’s future during election periods, through safeguarding the integrity of our voting polls,” said Eddie Alarte, principal of General Tiburcio De Leon National High School in Valenzuela in Metro Manila. “Power supply interruptions put this at risk.”
“Teachers are the backbone of national elections,” said Benjo Basas, national chairman of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), one of the country’s biggest teachers’ associations. “Any risk to the supply of electricity amid preparations for or during the May polls endangers not only the effectiveness of our work, but also the very security of the election process and of the teachers and voters themselves.”
“We’ve seen it before – teachers scrambling to protect ballots or machines, votes, and themselves. In relation to electricity supply, this is a preventable crisis,” he added.
“We do our duty every election. This time, we ask the government to do theirs. No teacher should be left in the dark, literally and figuratively, while performing this crucial role in our democracy.”
Teachers usually serve as electoral board members and will take charge of operating vote counting machines.
Ahead of the elections, election watchdog “Kontra Brownout, Iwas Daya!”, formed by multisectoral groups, has taken the lead to install solar panels in parts of General Tiburcio De Leon National High School to help ensure reliable power.
Avril De Torres, deputy executive director of CEED and one of the convenors of the watchdog coalition, said the Philippines has abundant potential for renewable energy. Its solar rooftop capacity is estimated to reach about 91 gigawatts.
“These (roof) systems can be installed in any terrain – even in the concrete jungle that is Metro Manila. Filipinos of all walks of life can benefit from the affordable, reliable and clean power,” she said.
Bishop Gerry Alminaza, vice chairperson of humanitarian organisation Caritas Philippines, said in a statement that this election season is critical, especially as Filipinos are also plagued by other socioeconomic and ecological problems in the country, which are making life difficult for many, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
He called for those running for election to care about these issues. “It is very important that those who are seeking to serve the public as lawmakers to be at the forefront of these conversations,” he said.
