• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines blamed a “system disturbance” that caused rotational power interruptions and voltage fluctuations at all power distributors in the islands of Negros, Panay and Guimaras.
NGCP was asked to explain of three days of voltage fluctuations and unannounced power interruptions over the past several days.
In a statement issued on May 1, Michella Viscera, NGCP regional communications and public information officer in Western Visayas, announced that NGCP has “restored all loads in Negros island previously affected by system disturbance.”
“With the synchronization of generators to the Visayas grid, power stability in the grid has now improved,” Viscera said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said that the national government will step in to augment efforts in addressing the power outages in Negros and Panay caused by a problem in the distribution system.
While Negros, has a surplus of power supply, Marcos said it encountered power interruptions along with Panay because of distribution system in high tension wire. “So that’s what we will have to look into,” the President said in an interview with the media onboard Flight PR 001.
“Kung hindi kaya ng mga gumagawa (if they cannot handle it), maybe the government na lang will be the one, We’ll augment. That’s it” he said.
Viscera also clarified that the NGCP is not blaming the Bacolod- based Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) for the power outages in Negros, Guimaras and Panay islands.
Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez is “seeking action and accountability from all concerned agencies” over the recent widespread voltage fluctuations and power outages that hit the city in the past several days.
The Electric Cooperatives Association of Region VI Inc., (ECAR VI) in a letter to Engr. Lazaro de la Cruz, district manager, Visayas Operations and Maintenance of NGCP, formally raised their concern regarding “the grid disturbance in the island of Panay and Guimaras causing overvoltage and frequent power outages in our respective electric cooperatives in the past few days.”
Atty. Arnel Lapore, acting general manager of CENECO in a letter to Felix Vidaure of NGCP Bacolod City, said the voltage fluctuations and grid disturbances “have caused so much anxieties from CENECO consumers, business groups and local government units.”
“We wished to be informed of the reasons for such disturbances for us to be able to intelligently inform our consumers of such problems.”
“Prompt and clear communication from your end will greatly help enlighten our consumers against these recurring conditions besetting our service areas, especially for those consumers whose appliances and equipment had already been damaged due to the unstable power supply,” Lapore said.*
