IF an anticipated drop in power supply is not immediately solved and blackouts will occur next year, the cost to the economy could be as high as P23 billion, President Benigno Aquino 3rd warned on Wednesday.

Citing government estimates, Aquino said the economic cost of the feared power outages could reach a minimum of P9.3 billion to as high as P23.3 billion, excluding foregone revenues in sectors that will be affected by brownouts.