13.5M people in Luzon, Visayas affected by power outages caused by Glenda
INQUIRER PHOTO/DELFIN T. MALLARI JR./INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON
MANILA, Philippines — At least 13.5 million people in Luzon and parts of Visayas lost electricity as typhoon “Glenda” (Rammasun) hit transmission lines.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said about 9 million people in southern parts of Luzon and portions of the Visayas lost power due to damaged power assets.
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which serves Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, said about 4.5 million people in its franchise area suffered power outages and said full restoration of power would take some time. As of 4 p.m., Meralco said power had been restored to 26 percent of its franchise area.
“We are targetting 60 percent power in Metro Manila by the end of the day (Wednesday midnight),” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said via text message on Wednesday early evening. “Target dates for the rest of the areas (Southern Luzon and parts of Visayas) will follow once we have more information on assessment.”
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Meralco said firm estimates showed that outages due to disrupted power transmission affected 86 percent of its franchise area, particularly the eastern and southern parts. That translates to about 4.5 million people in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon provinces as well as major portions of Rizal province (Binangonan, Morong, Tanay, Pililia and Jala-jala).
Meralco earlier gave a “broad” estimate that 90 percent of its franchise area, equivalent to about 5.3 million people, was without electricity. Meralco’s total network comprises 5.5 million people.
The first power interruptions in the Meralco franchise area were reported as early as Tuesday afternoon, with the outages increasing as the typhoon came nearer. But nearly 24 hours after the first power interruptions were reported, Meralco had not made estimates as to when power would be fully restored to its customers.
The Department of Energy reported earlier that the Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions were also without power, but it gave no estimates of the number of households affected or any indication as to when power would be restored.
Meralco confirmed earlier reports that the transmission lines of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in the Southern Luzon grid remained down.
“Due to said outages of vital NGCP transmission lines, generation plants in the South have been unable to deliver power to Meralco,” the country’s largest distribution utility said.
Based on coordination with the NGCP, Meralco reported that the NGCP has also been assessing the extent of the damage to its transmission facilities.
Meanwhile, the Bicol region was still without power. Transmission lines conveying power to Bicol from energy suppliers in Luzon were knocked down Tuesday night.
Mylene C. Capongcol, director of the DOE’s Power Industry Management Bureau, said in a text message earlier Wednesday that 17 transmission lines with 230kV capacity shut down in the Bicol region, isolating the area from energy suppliers since Tuesday night.
“Total blackout still in Bicol and Southern Tagalog,” Capongcol said.
A 350kV HVDC line connecting Luzon with Visayas was out as well along with the 500kV Tayabas-Ilijan line. Also out were 69kV lines in Samar and Sorsogon.
The DOE was coordinating with electricity cooperatives as much as possible to assess their status amid strong winds and rain, Capongcol said.
“QPL (Quezon Power (Philippines), Limited Co.) is surely down. Ilijan, Sta. Rita, and San Lorenzo advised that they will shut down if necessary. However we also don’t have any load (demand) right now in NCR and South Luzon either because lines are down on purpose or because lines have been toppled,” Petilla said early Wednesday.
QPL operates a 511MW coal-fired power plant. Ilijan is a natural gas-fired power plant of Kepco Ilijan Corp. in Batangas City, with a nominal capacity of 1,271MW. Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo are natural gas-fired power plants of First Gas Power Corp. in Batangas province with capacities of 1,060MW and 530MW, respectively
NGCP’s initial power outlook for July 16 showed Luzon having 1,283 MW in gross reserves (available capacity of 8,706MW versus system peak of 7,423MW), Visayas with a deficit of 15MW (available capacity of 1,469MW versus system peak of 1,484MW), and Mindanao with gross reserves of 21MW (available capacity of 1,373 versus system peak of 1,352MW).
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