What happened

The Malampaya gas field off Palawan, which supplies roughly 30% of Luzon's electricity needs and about 20% of the Philippines' total power generation, experienced an abrupt, unplanned restriction of its gas supply beginning around 11 September 2021 and lasting about three days, ahead of the field's separately scheduled preventive-maintenance shutdown running from 2 to 22 October 2021. The restriction forced First Gen Corporation's Sta. Rita (1,000 MW) and San Lorenzo (500 MW) gas-fired power plants to switch to more expensive liquid fuel, and the company's San Gabriel plant (414 MW) was temporarily shut down. The disruption renewed concerns among Philippine lawmakers and energy officials, including Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, about the risk of rotating power outages and higher electricity costs for consumers given Malampaya's outsized and increasingly precarious role in supplying Luzon's grid as the field's reserves decline. This is documented as an unplanned operational supply disruption, not an attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.