Meralco exec: ‘Fault current’ triggered power outage in Naia Terminal 3

FILE PHOTO: Empty passenger lanes at Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 3. (Photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) cited “fault current” as one of the causes of the outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 on Monday morning.

Meralco Manila Sector Manager Noel Espiritu explained in a press briefing on Monday afternoon that fault current is an abnormal amount of electrical current which flows through a circuit – which may result in “circuit tripping” and then outage.

“There was a fault indication at the main circuit breaker of Naia  Terminal 3, and that fault [triggered] the opening ng main circuit breaker nila kaya nawalan ng power,” he said.

(There was a fault indication at the main circuit breaker of Naia Terminal 3, and that fault [triggered] the opening of their main circuit breaker so the power went out.)

“‘Yung fault current na iyon umakyat din sa site ng Meralco at nagkaroon ng circuit tripping,” he added.

(That fault current also went up to the Meralco site and caused circuit tripping.)

READ: Flights delayed, canceled due to power outage at Naia Terminal 3

Espiritu also said that an electrical component – which he did not identify – had been replaced due to the fault current.

He likewise said that the cause of the fault current is still undetermined and that an investigation is ongoing. He added that Meralco has yet to see any physical manifestations of where the fault originated.

“Amin pa pong tinitignan ang eksaktong nag-cause ng fault current na ‘yon,” said Espiritu.

(We are still looking at the exact cause of that fault current.)

Sabotage? DOTr, NICA to investigate

Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has tapped the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) to assist in investigating the outage at the Naia Terminal 3 on Monday morning.

“Marami kasing mga possibilities, meron bang sabotage, and hindi natin dinidiscount ‘yan, and Meralco will also help assess kung meron talagang sabotage or not, kaya nga dapat pagaralan natin ‘yan,” the DOTr chief said in the same press conference.

(There are so many possibilities, like whether there is sabotage, and we do not discount that. Meralco will also help assess if there really is sabotage or not, that’s why we should study that.)

According to Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Cesar Chiong, a total of 9,000 domestic travelers were affected by the electricity interruption, which started at 1:05 a.m. The power was restored at around 8:46 a.m. on Monday.

Monday’s outage is the third time that Naia’s power service was disrupted under the Marcos administration. The first was in September 2022 also at Naia Terminal 3.

The most notable, however, was the New Year malfunctioning of the country’s entire air navigation system due to an outage. The January 1, 2023, air traffic management system mess caused massive cancellation, delay, and diversion of domestic and international flights and affected 65,000 travelers.

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