• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power) is now in full swing as it implements its 5-year rehabilitation and modernization plan for the facilities it inherited from the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO).
This follows the Energy Regulatory Commission’s granting of a Provisional Authority for Negros Power’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, giving the green light to execute its franchise for managing, maintaining, and operating the electric power distribution in Central Negros.
Over the weekend, Negros Power initiated rehabilitation and corrective measures at the Reclamation and Asdez-Gonzaga substations in Bacolod City. These substations are allegedly in critical condition due to their age, high utilization levels, and the need for extensive overhaul of their power transformers.
Negros Power carried out the degassing of the power transformers and hotspot corrections of their accessories to prevent potential failures similar to what occurred at the Alijis Substation in August.
According to Negros Power President and Chief Executive Officer Roel Castro, seven out of the twelve power transformers in the franchise area have exceeded the standard 25-year lifespan for optimal operation and need immediate rehabilitation.
“We cannot waste more time. We need to implement the rehabilitation now. The aging transformers have started to show signs of deterioration, such as oil leakage, indicating a high risk of malfunctioning, like the recent incident at the Alijis substation on August 21,” Castro said.
Castro also appealed to the consumers’ understanding of the inconveniences these rehabilitation activities may cause.
“Ten to twelve hours of scheduled power interruptions are necessary to facilitate the rehabilitation and preventive maintenance works; thus, we need your understanding and cooperation. We empathize with the inconvenience that it will cause our consumers. However, this will prevent unscheduled, longer, and wider blackouts that none of us want to experience,” Castro emphasized.*
