NGCP OFFICIALS FACE PROBE: National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) officials face investigation Wednesday, January 10, 2024, during the Senate committee on energy probe into the massive brownouts that hit Panay Island last January 2, 2024. Clark Agustin, assistant vice president and head of the National System Operations, explained their side on the incident. Senate PRIB photo
MANILA, Philippines — A day after getting admonished in the Senate, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) received a fresh tongue-lashing from House lawmakers for lapses during the massive blackout in Panay.
Lawmakers said the NGCP did not observe its previous agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) at the height of the Panay blackouts — that they would issue reports every 30 minutes about the state of the grid.
Discussions at the House committee on energy on Thursday revealed that even before the plants over the Panay-Negros grid started tripping by 12:06 p.m. of January 2, NGCP has failed to provide reports to DOE, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and other stakeholders through a Viber group chat, about the situation in the said area.
The lack of reports from NGCP was already revealed during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, but Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor quizzed the corporation as to why this happened.
READ: NGCP fails to issue report on tripping incident prior to Panay blackout
When NGCP National Systems Operation head Clark Agustin said that he is not aware of the reason — adding that they will try to discover it — Defensor scolded them for acting on this issue over a week since the Panay blackouts started.
“Are you talking of Viber updates po? Regarding the Viber we would look at that because that is semi-automatic, that’s why messages only came in during the afternoon if you have observed […] we will be checking sir why it stopped sendign reports after 10:30 a.m.,” Agustin said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“You would only check it now? Do you mean to say, the incident happened several days already but you do not know why you were not able to send in reports to DOE for five hours after a plant shutdown? You only gave reports when multiple plants started to trip?” Defensor asked.
DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan attested that they did not get any report from NGCP, noting that he actually asked for data about issues hounding the Panay grid.
Committee chairperson and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco then noted that the agreement that NGCP would give reports every 30 minutes may be an informal one, but it was created with the intention of addressing power issues that may arise in the Panay-Negros grid.
Velasco stressed that the group chat was created as a resolution to the April 2023 power interruption that also affected Panay Island.
“There are no reports from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. In fact if I may emphasize, I personally requested on the Viber group the posting of those data,” Marasigan said.
“That’s the most crucial period,” Defensor commented.
“Exactly, although it’s not really a requirement, but it’s an agreement made between DOE, NGCP, ERC, and all those members of the Viber group mainly because of the incident that happened back in April, and that’s the reason why they created that Viber group,” Velasco added.
Agustin replied by saying that they actually sent out text messages, which is required when power plants trip. However, Defensor stressed that addressing the group chat is important because the Panay blackouts have turned into a national concern, which required DOE intervention — hence it is essential to inform the head of the industry about developments.
“For the Viber group po, actually I do not know the reason why no reports came out. But for the updates, upon tripping of the plants, we have SMS updates separately, through SMS advisory, every time a plant trips, we release separate advisories as it is required,” Agustin said.
“Mr. Chair, we could disregard the Viber group if it is not a matter of national interest, but there is a major plant that shut down, then that is when they do not report to DOE, the head of the industry? Isn’t that the most unlikely situation — that you will not act and inform the Department of Energy?” Defensor replied.
Households in Panay Island including other areas like Guimaras and some parts of Negros Island were plunged into darkness last January 2, as NGCP claims that the unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of different power plants triggered the blackout.
READ: NGCP asserts need for better resource planning after Panay power outage
However, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla pointed out that NGCP was capable of preventing the issue from occurring in the first place, because the corporation’s mandate is to maintain the stability of grids.
READ: Garin: Some Iloilo residents now getting sick as power remains scarce
After the incident, several lawmakers including Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin asked for an investigation on the issue, as the impact on livelihood, schools, and businesses been severe.
No less than Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas labeled the incident an “economic sabotage”, with the city losing millions for every day during the blackouts.