Power to be restored to Leyte, Samar in 6 weeks

Daanbantayan street in northern Cebu after the supertyphoon Yolanda.TONEE DESPOJO/CEBU DAIILY NEWS FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The islands of Leyte and Samar are totally cut off from the power grid while other major islands in the Visayas are experiencing brownouts in the aftermath of  “supertyphoon Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) that toppled 248 transmission towers and 318 poles across the region.

According to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the super typhoon also put 19 high-voltage lines out of commission and damaged seven substations. The entire central Philippines now has a power supply deficit of about 200 megawatts.

Repairs could take five to six weeks, the NGCP said.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said in a briefing on Wednesday that four things must happen to finally restore power in Leyte and Samar.

First, “the Ormoc substation must be energized and the grid interconnection to Luzon via the Ormoc-Cabacungan transmission line restored,” Albanza said.

Also “the link (between Leyte and Cebu) must be restored through the Ormoc-Tabango line,” she added.

One fallen tower switched off the 350-kilovolt Ormoc-Cabacungan line while the 230-kV Ormoc-Tabango line lost eight towers.

Alabanza said that the fourth requirement for power restoration would be an operational power plant within Leyte.

“With all these four factors realized, supply from the Luzon grid can be accessed to bring power to Leyte and Samar and to bring additional supply to Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Aklan,” she added.

Leyte Island is home to the Tongonan and Malibotbog geothermal fields, where power plants harness the heat to generate electricity.

Alabanza said power from Luzon, delivered through the Ormoc-Cabacungan line, would help bring back the Leyte power plants.

As of Wednesday, available power in the Visayas was 1,031 MW, but electricity use was peaking at 1,168 MW. Power-generation reserve capacity was nil.

Alabanza said 700 contractors with the NGCP have mobilized 1,381 equipment experts and linemen from all over the country to help in the repair effort.

In a statement, NGCP president and chief executive Henry Sy Jr. said the company has been going all out in terms of resources and manpower to hasten the rebuilding and interconnection of the transmission backbone.

“We are sending 34 additional line crews composed of eight people each (a total of 272) from all over the Philippines to be deployed in the different islands of the Visayas,” Sy said.

NGCP is coordinating with the Department of Energy, National Electrification Administration and other concerned agencies on the restoration efforts.

However, NGCP expressed concern about the fallen towers, poles and lines, as “unscrupulous people” might steal the parts to use in the rebuilding of their houses or sell them in exchange for other goods.

While there have been no reports of pilferage, the company appealed to the public to spare the towers as missing parts would impede repairs.

“It will be more challenging for us if people will steal the parts of our damaged towers,” Sy said.

“We are asking for the public’s cooperation by being vigilant and reporting pilferage incidents to help us bring the power back to the affected islands at the soonest possible time,” he added.

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