MANILA, Philippines - Daily brownouts lasting 7 to 10 hours are starting to take a toll on businesses in Butuan City, an ABS-CBN Regional Network Group report said Thursday.

Owners of a local ice plant said they are losing money due to the brownouts, which start at 10 a.m. and last until 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines earlier said rotating brownouts continue to affect areas being serviced by the Mindanao grid due to low water levels in several hydropower plants.

"Contingency reserve is zero due to generation deficiency brought about by reduced capabilities of hydro plants (Agusan plants, 50% reduction and Pulangi plants-75 % reduction) due to very low water inflow," the NGCP said.

The NGCP said it gets 12 megawatts of power from electric cooperatives in the affected areas in the morning. It said the demand increases to 22 megawatts during peak hours.

The NGCP said the rotating brownouts could last until June due to the long dry season.