ERC revokes SIPCOR’s permit as Siquijor power supplier, orders shutdown of plants

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Friday has ordered the revocation of Siquijor Island Power Corporation’s (SIPCOR) permit to operate as the island province’s power supplier due to alleged violations of its compliance requirements amid the ongoing power crisis in the island province, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin announced.

“Today, the Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered to revoke, with immediate effect, all of the Provisional Authorities to Operate issued in favor of Siquijor Power Corporation’s generating units for its multiple violations of operational and regulatory compliance requirements… following the worsening power supply situation in Siquijor Province and the severe impact this has had on lives and livelihood across the island,” Garin said at a press conference in Taguig City.

SIPCOR is a subsidiary of Villar Group’s Prime Asset Ventures. 

In a statement, SIPCOR confirmed it has been served with  ERC’s decision.

“We are currently studying the Order and shall exhaust all remedies available to us under the law,” the power generation company said.

“We assure our stakeholders and the public of our commitment to address the matter responsibly and resolve this concern as soon as possible,” it added.

HAPPENING NOW | Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson and CEO Atty. Francis Saturnino C. Juan, along with Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Mario Marasigan, are personally serving the Closure Order against the Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR). pic.twitter.com/TsJMYi6TRT

— Energy Regulatory Commission (@ERCgovPH) August 29, 2025

Garin earlier said the Department of Energy (DOE), on August 5, wrote a letter to the ERC advising the power industry regulator that “the PAOs (Provisional Authorities to Operate) issued to SIPCOR should be cancelled and any other applications for PAO should be denied.”

The Energy chief added that the DOE also informed the ERC that “we are retracting our endorsement of SIPCOR as a generation company.”

The Energy chief said the DOE’s recommendation to the ERC resulted from its months-long inspections and probe into the Siquijor power crisis since May.

The Energy Department, in particular, found the following violations committed by SIPCOR:

• Operating of generating units without a valid Certificate of Compliance (COC) — SIPCOR has allegedly continued to operate without a valid COC and has failed to submit a timely application for renewal. 
• Unauthorized use of rental generator sets — Rental gensets have been found to replace inoperative units necessary permits and without prior notification to the ERC and DOE.
• Breach of approved Power Supply Agreement - SIPCOR’s inability to deliver sufficient power, thereby violating provisions of its memorandum of agreement with PROSIELCO (Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative)

“Following a NEA (National Electrification Administration) audit of SIPCOR’s generating units ordered by the DOE, it was revealed that consumers experienced a total of 568 power interruptions, averaging more than 31 outages per month, and residents endured rotating brownouts lasting an average of 11 hours per day. As a result, the Province of Siquijor had to declare a State of Calamity in the first week of June,” Garin said.

The Energy chief noted that despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to the island in June, during which he directed the DOE and NEA to implement both long term and short temporary solutions to address the power crisis, SIPCOR’s “attempted improvement was short-lived.”

“From June 16 to August 25, customers saw an average daily outage of six hours, and limited generation capacity was the main culprit,” Garin said.

The DOE chief added that SIPCOR’s “unstable” plants caused power outages “every single day” from July 20 to August 4, which lasted over seven hours a day on five separate days during the period.

Moreover, she said that the power generation company has failed to maintain its minimum fuel inventory as it “only met the 10-day inventory threshold on 21 out of 71 days of monitoring.”

In its order, dated August 28, the ERC directed SIPCOR to cease plant operations by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 29.

The regulator also directed the power generation company to coordinate and synchronize its plants’ shutdown with the commercial operations and synchronization of Total Power Inc.’s, the new power supplier, generating units to PROSIELCO’s distribution line “so as not to cause any power interruption in the Province of Siquijor.”

For his part, NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda said that “as we speak,” the cease-and-desist order against SIPCOR’s plants is already being served and that Total Power’s synchronization to the island’s electricity distribution infrastructure is ongoing.

Total Power, the new power supplier of the island, contracted by PROSIELCO through an Emergency Power Supply Agreement, will provide 15.75 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

“This is well above the province’s peak energy demand of 9.5 MW,” Garin said.

In particular, the Energy chief said Certificates of Endorsement were issued by the DOW to the following plants of Total Power:

• 4.5 MW diesel power plant located in Lazi, Siquijor
• 4.4 MW diesel plant located in Siquijor, Siquijor
• 6.4 MW diesel power plant located in Larena, Siquijor 

“Today’s order to shut down the plants puts an end to SIPCOR’s operations and the disruption that it has brought to the people of Siquijor. We have laid down the path toward a future of improved power service on the island,” Garin said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News