Power transmission facilities still out in Leyte, Samar

MANILA, Philippines — Power transmission facilities knocked out by “supertyphoon Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) have remained out of commission for seven provinces in the Visayas as of Sunday, the Sy-led National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), said.

All transmission lines were still down in Leyte and Samar as of Sunday, the NGCP said.  Some lines and/or substations are also offline in the provinces of Aklan and Capiz, as well as parts of Antique, Bohol and Iloilo provinces, as of this posting.

Specifically, the facilities still out of commission, as of Sunday, are the Panit-an substation and Nabas substation in Panay island, all 138kV lines in

Bohol, the Calaca-Nasugbu-Calatagan 69kV line in Batangas, as well as all transmission facilities in Leyte and Samar.

Some facilities have been restored since the brunt of the typhoon passed Saturday afternoon. Most lines and facilities in Batangas, Laguna, Bohol, Cebu, Negros, and Panay are back online, according to the NGCP in a report.

On Friday, the high voltage direct current line from Luzon to Visayas tripped as “Yolanda” made landfall.

The transmission superhighway operator said it has mobilized its line crew and has been conducting aerial and ground patrols to inspect and assess the impact of the typhoon on operations and facilities, especially in Bohol, Leyte, and Samar.

NGCP said that power loss might be caused by one or a combination of the following: affected transmission facilities of NGCP or distribution facilities of local distribution utilities and/or electric cooperatives. Specific cities and municipalities affected by the power interruptions are determined by the concerned distribution utilities, unless the outage affects the entire franchise area, according to the NGCP.

“Necessary preparations and precautions have been implemented to minimize the impact of the storm of NGCP operations and facilities,” NGCP said.

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