POWER OUTAGE | Supply still insufficient as power outage persists on Panay island

January 3, 2024 , 11:06 AM

By Beatrice Puente

(January 3, 2023) – Much to the dismay of residents and local officials, a number of areas in Western Visayas on Wednesday have continued to grapple with limited power supply due to “multiple power plant tripping in Panay island” that started yesterday afternoon.

In its 10 a.m. update, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said the power plants in Panay are only supplying 159.3 megawatts (MW), which was augmented by 6.5 MW from other energy sources in the Visayas grid.

“The grid needs about 135MW to stabilize and is awaiting PCPC (135MW) to synchronize back to the grid,” said the NGCP. “Load restoration will be done conservatively by matching loads to restored generation, to prevent repeated voltage failure. NGCP is ready to transmit power once it is available.”

Among the 13 power plants listed by the NGCP, four have yet to resume supplying power to the grid. Only PB101 and GLOBAL, which cumulatively provide a measly 23.4 MW, are in their full capacity, as of writing.

It noted that the PEDC Unit 1, which has a capacity of 83MW, synchronized at 7:45 a.m.

The NGCP is expected to release another update this afternoon.

With the difficulties brought about by the blackout, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas suspended classes in all levels today. He added in a Facebook post last night that the NGCP must “provide regular updates to the public regarding the situation.”

He said the local government unit will set up charging stations in different parts of the city.

In an earlier post, he expressed his disappointment over the insufficient power supply not only in their city but on the entire Panay island.

“The country suffered (seven) to 10-hour blackout/brownouts during the energy crisis in the 1980s. Now, in the year 2024, Panay is suffering. I call on the ERC (Energy Regulation Commission) and the DOE (Department of Energy) to make the NGCP accountable for their incompetence,” read Treñas’ post.

Power outages are not new in Western Visayas. Last year, Iloilo Rep. Julienne Baronda and other lawmakers from the region sought a legislative inquiry into the sudden blackouts in their areas, which disrupted businesses, offices, and the day-to-day living of locals.

Barronda and her colleagues filed House Resolution No. 993 following the “system disturbance” that affected the Visayas grid last April.

“The power outages caused serious disturbance to the Ilonggo people who are essentially being robbed of their constitutional right to quality life, not to mention the negative impacts such incidents have to the economy and the resulting damage to properties,” according to the resolution.

A similar push was made in the Senate by Sen. Grace Poe, who shared concerns about the negative implications of persistent power outages.

“There is also a need to look into long-term solutions to these power interruptions and outages within the backdrop of the ‘thin’ supply of power in the Visayas grid,” she said last May.

(PM)

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