12-hour power blackout hits Samar Island, central Leyte due to maintenance work

CATARMAN, Philippines—The entire Samar island and central Leyte province started experiencing a 12-hour blackout at 6 a.m. on Sunday because of major repair being done on its transmission line.

Affected by the blackout are the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar as well as half of Leyte. Power will resume at 6 p.m. on Sunday, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

The NGCP said in a statement that the blackout was due to the preventive maintenance works done on the 138 kilovolts lines from its substation Ormoc City to another substation in Babatngon town in Leyte on Sunday.

Eastern Visayas gets its power supply from geothermal power in Tongonan town in Leyte. Power is then transmitted through interconnected lines.