• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Power has fulfilled its promise to about 48,000 consumers connected to the conked-out Alijis Substation, by restoring power at about 10 a.m. Monday, through the 10 MegaVolt Amperes (MVA) mobile substation of its sister company, MORE Power, that was brought in from Iloilo City, and tie-ups to the feeders of the other substations.
Jonathan Cabrera, Negros Power spokesperson, disclosed yesterday that the mobile substation with a 12 MegaWatts (MW) capacity is enough to power the 9.3MW demand load of Alijis Feeders 1 and 3.
Alijis Feeder 3 suffered almost five days of rotational brownouts due to a supply deficiency from the Murcia substation, where it was temporarily tied up.
With the energization from the mobile substation, the power has returned to normal, and no more rotational brownouts will be implemented by Negros Power, Cabrera said.
He added that some feeders of the Alijis substation remain tied up to adjacent substations until Negros Power energizes the new 18MVA power transformer, which is scheduled for September 2.
In a statement, Negros Power president Roel Castro disclosed that their decision to bring the 10MVA mobile station of MORE Power from Iloilo City is a significant risk on their part because it is the asset of their sister company.
Still, they must take the risk because they prioritized restoring the electricity of Bacolod City consumers immediately.
“We are not happy about what has happened, but are committed to making things better for the consumers. Just give us time, space, and the benefit of the doubt. We will prove ourselves in due time,” Castro said, after the restoration of electricity.
The early demise of a 13-year-old power transformer last August 21 led to its early rehabilitation on top of six other substations previously owned by Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO), which are now breaching the standard threshold or already reaching critical operational levels.
Their rehabilitation will be prioritized once Negros Power fully implements the P2 billion 5-year development plan in Central Negros.
Negros Power and CENECO recently entered into a Joint Venture Agreement to augment the financial needs in the rehabilitation and modernization of the electric distribution assets and meet the power demand of the increasing number of consumers.*
