Olongapo to suffer brownouts

OLONGAPO CITY—Residents will have to bear with a sweltering Tuesday due to a scheduled 11-hour power outage, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

In a statement, Ernest Lorenz Vidal, corporate communication and public affairs officer of NGCP in Central Luzon, cited NGCP’s annual preventive maintenance work on two transformers at the Olongapo substation as well as the repair of the transmission lines of Olongapo Electricity Distribution Co.’s (OEDC) as reasons for the brownout.

Vidal advised customers and the general public “to take the necessary preparations and precautions.” The power interruption will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On May 18, the city suffered more than 10 hours of power interruption, prompting residents here to spend most of their time at malls and restaurants inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Jose Maria Abaya, OEDC president, had apologized to OEDC customers for experiencing brownout “beyond what was scheduled” when the residents complained.

He said they miscalculated the work needed to complete their annual preventive work.

On Monday, residents in nearby Dinalupihan town in Bataan province also experienced a six-hour power interruption from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Saturday, the towns of Hermosa, Orani and Samal, also in Bataan, suffered brownouts that lasted more than five hours. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon