Before May Brownouts, 87% of Filipinos Were Already Considering Solar Panels, Agile Data Study Finds

Agile Data Solutions Inc. study shows solar interest was already high before red and yellow alerts triggered rotating power interruptions in Luzon and Visayas

19 May 2026, Manila, Philippines — Even before the May red and yellow alerts disrupted power supply in parts of Luzon and Visayas, Filipinos were already looking for alternatives to expensive and unreliable electricity.

But new nationwide data from Agile Data Solutions Inc. suggest that this interest was already building before the latest power interruptions made the country’s electricity problem harder to ignore.

According to survey findings gathered through Hustle PH, the data collection arm of Agile Data Solutions Inc., a nationwide study conducted on April 23, covering 3,000 respondents across all major regions of the Philippines, found that 87% of Filipinos either agree or strongly agree that they are considering solar panel installation.

Because the survey was conducted before the May power alerts and rotating brownouts, the findings suggest that the recent outages did not create solar interest from nothing. Instead, they landed on an already receptive public.

The brownouts did not start the solar shift. They may have made it feel more urgent.

At the center of the study is a clear gap: Filipinos are ready to consider solar, but solar is not yet easy enough for many households to adopt. Awareness is high. Interest is strong. The need is practical. But cost, financing, durability concerns, battery storage, and limited public guidance continue to stand in the way.

The problem is no longer whether Filipinos know about solar.

The problem is whether the country can make solar reachable fast enough.

Solar Is Already in the Public Mind

Before solar energy can become a serious household option, people first need to understand what it is. On that front, the Philippines appears to be further ahead than expected.

The study found that 57% of respondents describe themselves as very familiar with solar energy, while another 32% say they are familiar. Only 3% say they are not familiar with solar energy.

This suggests that solar is no longer being discussed only by energy experts, environmental advocates, or high-income homeowners. It has entered everyday public awareness.

But the source of that awareness reveals a gap.

Social media, including Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, is the leading source of solar energy information, accounting for 37% of respondents’ primary information sources. Solar energy companies rank second at 11%, followed by friends and family and online news, both at 9%.

Government campaigns and community programs, by contrast, register at only 2% each.

That contrast is important. Filipinos appear to be learning about solar largely through their feeds, private providers, and personal networks, not through a highly visible public information push.

This creates one of the study’s clearest public-sector gaps: Filipinos expect government leadership on renewable energy, but very few are learning about solar through government channels.

The Bill Arrives Whether the Power Does or Not

For many Filipinos, interest in solar energy is not being driven by abstract climate goals. It is being driven by the monthly electric bill.

Nearly eight in ten respondents say rising electricity costs have influenced their interest in solar energy. This is one of the clearest signals in the study: consumers are not only thinking about solar because it is clean or modern. They are thinking about it because electricity has become difficult to absorb.

Most respondents report spending between ₱1,000 and ₱5,000 per month on electricity. For lower-income households, that can represent a meaningful share of monthly expenses.

This is where the solar conversation becomes more grounded. The appeal is not just environmental. It is financial.

Can solar lower the bill?

For many households, that question matters more than any larger energy transition narrative.

And when high electricity costs are paired with unreliable supply, the pressure on households becomes harder to ignore. Filipinos are not just paying more for power. Many are also unsure whether that power will be there when they need it.

The Grid Keeps Making the Case for Solar

Power interruptions are not a rare experience for many Filipinos.

The study found that 49% of respondents experience power outages sometimes, while another 18% say they experience them always. Only 9% say they never experience power outages.

This means the May red and yellow alerts did not introduce a new problem. They intensified a familiar one.

A two-hour brownout is not the same experience for everyone. For the household with a chest freezer full of stock, it is a spoilage calculation made in real time. For the freelancer on a deadline, it is a sprint to the nearest coffee shop with a generator. For the family that cannot afford either, it is just waiting — fan off, phone dying, hoping the rotation ends before it gets dark.

In that context, solar energy becomes more than an alternative energy source. It becomes a way to regain some control.

Among those currently using solar energy, reliability and uninterrupted power supply rank among the leading reasons for adoption, alongside lower electricity costs and energy independence.

That is one of the clearest signals in the data: Filipinos are living with a power system that feels both expensive and fragile, so solar is becoming less of a lifestyle choice and more of a practical household option.

The Solar Shift Has Already Started

The study also shows that solar energy is no longer starting from zero.

Nearly half of respondents, or 49.7%, say they already use some form of solar energy, while 50.3% do not.

This finding should be understood carefully. It does not mean nearly half of Filipino households already have full rooftop solar systems. Many are using smaller and more accessible solar products.

Among current solar users, the most common application is solar lighting systems, cited by 51.6% of users. Full solar panels for electricity account for 24%.

This suggests that many Filipinos may be entering the solar category gradually. Solar lighting often comes first because it is more affordable, familiar, and easier to adopt. Larger household systems may come later, once cost, financing, and installation concerns become more manageable.

The country may not be heading toward one sudden solar leap. It may be moving through a ladder of adoption: smaller solar products first, then bigger household systems.

Among current solar users, the leading motivation is reducing electricity bills at 33.6%. This is followed by reliability and uninterrupted power supply at 16.75%, energy independence at 15.76%, and environmental concerns at 14.78%.

The finding is clear: the solar story in the Philippines is being led by practical household pressure.

Filipinos are not only trying to be greener. They are trying to spend less, avoid disruption, and become less dependent on a grid that continues to show its limits.

The Gap Between Wanting Solar and Getting It

If awareness is high and interest is strong, why has solar not become more common as a full household energy solution?

The answer is access.

The study points to two major barriers: fear of damage from typhoons and storms, and the upfront cost of installation.

In a country regularly exposed to typhoons, heavy rains, and extreme weather, durability concerns are understandable. Filipinos may like the idea of solar, but they also know what their roofs go through every year.

Weather dependency is also a concern, ranking at 11.04%, while battery storage cost and availability come in at 9.05%.

These concerns reflect a uniquely Philippine hesitation. The same weather that makes the national grid vulnerable also makes households cautious about installing solar equipment at home.

But the biggest practical barrier remains affordability.

When asked what would encourage adoption, respondents pointed to specific solutions: lower installation costs, more affordable battery storage, and better financing or payment options.

This is the study’s clearest message: Filipinos are not waiting to be convinced that solar is useful. They are waiting for solar to become affordable enough to act on.

The demand is there. The challenge is access.

The Decision Is Already Being Made

The strongest signal in the study may be what Filipinos say they plan to do next.

A striking 87% of respondents either agree or strongly agree that they are considering solar panel installation.

When asked about the likelihood of adopting solar energy in the next one to five years, 46% say they are very likely, while another 36.85% say they are likely.

Combined, about 83% of Filipinos express near-term adoption intent.

Because the survey was conducted on April 23, these numbers came before the May red and yellow alerts. That makes the finding more powerful. The latest power interruptions did not create solar interest from nothing. They arrived at a time when many Filipinos were already considering the shift.

For some households, solar may have once felt like a future upgrade. After another round of power instability, it may feel more urgent.

“The data suggests that Filipinos are no longer looking at solar only as a sustainability choice. They are looking at it as a practical response to high bills, outages, and uncertainty,” said Jason Gaguan, Chairman and Co-founder of Agile Data Solutions Inc. “The interest is already there. The next challenge is making adoption more accessible, affordable, and trusted.”

Once You Go Solar, You Think Differently

Among current solar users, the study found that solar energy does not only change where power comes from. It also changes how people think about electricity.

Nearly 48% of solar users say their electricity consumption has been strongly influenced by having solar, while another 34% say they have been influenced. Fewer than 4% report no change at all.

This suggests that solar adoption may create a broader behavior shift. Once households begin producing or supplementing their own power, they may become more conscious of energy use, cost, and efficiency.

Solar, in this sense, is not only a product. It is a mindset shift.

The Missing Public Push

Nine in ten Filipinos say the government should invest more in renewable energy. That is not just an environmental position. At this point, it is close to a public consensus.

And yet, when the study asked where people are actually learning about solar, government campaigns and community programs were among the least-cited sources, each accounting for only 2%. Social media, private providers, and personal networks are doing much of the work of introducing solar to the public.

That gap matters.

Solar adoption can stall when households do not know which providers to trust, which permits to file, which financing options exist, or whether the installation on their roof can withstand extreme weather.

These are not questions that social media posts can fully answer. They are the kind of questions that require visible, credible, and accessible public information.

The public has done part of the work. Awareness is high. Intent is strong. The urgency, after another round of power alerts and rotating brownouts, is harder to ignore.

What has not fully caught up is the support system that can turn interest into action at scale.

From Backup Plan to Serious Option

For years, solar energy was often seen as an expensive upgrade, a green lifestyle choice, or a backup option for households that could afford it.

The study suggests that perception is changing.

Filipinos are now looking at solar through a more practical lens: Can it lower the bill? Can it keep the lights on? Can it make the household less vulnerable when the grid struggles again?

Increasingly, the answer they are considering is yes.

The April 23 survey did not predict the May red and yellow alerts. But it caught something the red and yellow alerts confirmed: Filipinos were already tired of waiting for the grid to get better.

The brownouts did not plant that feeling. They just made it harder to defer.

The shift was already in motion. The only thing that changed is that it became impossible to pretend otherwise.

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About Agile Data Solutions Inc.

Your agile partner in data-driven growth.

Agile Data Solutions Inc. is the country’s premier market research technology company. Partnered with GCash, it has the largest panel size in the Philippines, boasting more than 74 million customer data points to date.

Agile Data Solutions’ hyper-targeted customer modeling is powered by its data-gathering platform Hustle PH, which connects a network of over 1,600,000 respondents nationwide. Through advanced data collection and innovative data engineering, Agile Data Solutions Inc. has become the preferred data and market insights partner of numerous Fortune 500 companies, banks, telecommunications, and technology firms across Southeast Asia.

For more information, visit https://www.agiledatasolutions.tech/ or email agilepartners@hustle-ph.com.