ILOILO CITY–Power was cut late Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the islands of Panay and Guimaras, plunging towns and villages in these areas in darkness as night set in.
Power was still out past 8 p.m. as electric utilities started to reenergize their systems.
The outage was experienced in the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz and Aklan.
The cause of the blackout, which also caused low voltage in some areas on Negros Island, is still being investigated, according to engineer Jose Rey Maleza, director of the Department of Energy-Visayas Field Office.
Maleza said coal plants of the Global Business Power Corp. in Iloilo City and Palm Concepcion Power Corp. in Concepcion town Iloilo tripped starting past 5 p.m.
The two coal plants produced a total of about 300 megawatts, or bulk of the power needs of Panay and Guimaras islands./TSB