NGCP still investigating cause of massive power outage in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) could still not offer an explanation as to why a massive power outage hit Mindanao early Easter Sunday, engulfing much of the island in darkness for up to seven hours in some areas.

The power outage occurred even as the NGCP said on its website that Mindanao’s peak demand for Sunday was 1,249 megawatts against the prevailing system capacity of 1,350 megawatts.

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Five hours after power was restored in the affected areas, including this city, the four Davao provinces and Compostela Valley, the whole of Central Mindanao, the Agusan and Surigao provinces, and the Western Mindanao and Northern Mindanao areas, the NGCP said it was still trying to investigate the cause.

Only the islands of Siargao and Basilan were not affected as power providers there have been using generators for their consumers.

Cynthia Alabanza, the NGCP spokesperson, said that all transmission substations and plants connected to backbone lines in Mindanao were “synchronized to the grid as of 7:50 am,” but consumers in such areas as Davao del Sur said power was fully restored only past 8 a.m.

Alabanza has not offered any explanation though as to why the power outage occurred in the first place.

In this city, power has not been fully restored as of the afternoon, according to an advisory issued by the Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC).

In North Cotabato, the power outage failed to dampen the Easter Sunday celebrations.

The Catholic faithful in Diocese of Kidapawan had to light candles though and used megaphones for the traditional “salubong.”

In an advisory, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it was helping trace what caused the massive power outage.

The DOE said the first tripping apparently occurred at the Agus hydropower plants in Lanao.

Bambi Capulong, the NGCP communications officer for Mindanao, said teams of linemen were immediately dispatched to investigate the cause of the power interruption.

“We are still determining the cause and extent of the problem. Root cause is still under investigation,” Capulong said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“NGCP is working to restore power services to affected customers in Mindanao,” Capulong added.

The last time Mindanao experienced a similar island-wide power outage was in 2014 when the power generators of the Steag State Power Company in Misamis Oriental conked out.

In recent weeks, the NGCP said the power situation in Mindanao was worsening due to the decreasing water level at the hydropower plants in Lanao and Bukidnon – which account for the bulk of the island’s power supply because of the dry spell being experienced since early this year. SFM/AC