GAME NIGHT The massive blackout in Western Visayas has at least one welcome effect: children escape from their humid homes, let go of their gadgets and “rediscover” playtime under the stars, like this group photographed Thursday night at Megaworld district in Iloilo City. —ARNOLD ALMACEN/ILOILO CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE
ILOILO CITY — As the power distributor in this city asked customers to prepare for another outage on Panay Island in the next three to five days, the local government said it would push through with its plan to sue the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) over the three-day blackout early this month that hit local businesses hard.
“Our lawyers from the city legal [office] will be meeting the lawyers from the provincial legal office tomorrow (Jan. 20) to discuss the class suit against NGCP,” Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said in a statement on Friday.
Treñas called out the NGCP over what he described as lack of measures to ensure the safety of transmission lines and to guarantee that Panay had enough power supply.
READ: Franchise loss, class suit eyed vs NGCP
He reiterated his request to Congress to investigate the NGCP over the Jan. 2 to Jan. 5 power outage that hit the islands of Panay, Guimaras and parts of Negros Occidental province.
Reports said businesses in Iloilo province lost at least P3.5 billion while Iloilo City, the regional capital of Western Visayas, posted P1.5 billion in losses during the three-day blackout.
Treñas appealed to the Office of the President, the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to intervene and hold the NGCP responsible for the power interruption. The ERC and the House of Representatives have started their respective investigations into the Panay outage.
In a video message on Jan. 5, President Marcos blamed the widespread blackout on the NGCP’s “failure to act.”
“Stability involves proactive responses to breakdowns and unexpected events, a duty that NGCP unfortunately has not fulfilled adequately,” the President said.
“NGCP’s failure to act during the crucial two-hour window is a missed opportunity. As the system’s operator, NGCP must proactively engage with distribution utilities and cooperatives to manage loads and prevent such system collapses,” he said.
The power outage struck after multiple power plants shut down and at least 452 megawatts of power was lost from the Visayas grid.
NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza explained on Jan. 2 that 302 megawatts was lost due to the tripping of the plants, while the remaining 150 MW was lost due to scheduled maintenance shutdowns.
Preparation
More Power and Electric Corp. (MORE Power), the power distributor in Iloilo City, on Thursday called on consumers to prepare for another possible power outage in Panay due to unresolved issues in major power plants supplying electricity to the island.
MORE Power said it was notified by the NGCP about an imminent rotational brownout in the next three to five days.
It said that the potential implementation of manual load dropping in its franchise area was expected to result in unscheduled power interruptions.
“This is due to insufficient power generation supply. This is expected to last three to five days from now. We advise our consumers to be more efficient in using electricity and be prepared for possible manual load dropping affecting your area,” MORE Power said in an advisory.
Reagahn Alcantara, lead specialist of the NGCP, said they alerted MORE Power about the possibility of rotational brownouts after the 150 megawatt coal-fired power plant of Panay Energy Development Corp. in Lapaz District in the city tripped off on Wednesday night.
Alcantara said that if another major power plant encountered a similar issue, rotational brownouts might occur.
Fears of a repeat of the Jan. 2 to Jan. 5 Panay-wide blackout prompted the NGCP to initiate manual load dropping.
The NGCP, working closely with distribution utilities, including MORE Power and electric cooperatives, would determine the duration and extent of load shedding based on the available power supply and priority areas.
“The public is urged to remain vigilant, conserve energy, and stay informed through official channels for updates on the evolving power situation,” it said.
The Iloilo Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association (Ihrra), in a statement, expressed concern over the unstable power supply in Panay.
“We are urging the concerned government agencies to find a solution at the fastest possible time,” Ihrra said.
“Iloilo City and the province have gone through such an experience last year and that should have been a wake-up call for them to act fast and prioritize upgrading to make sure provincewide blackouts become a thing of the past,” it added. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH