Electricity transmission cables go offline in Luzon, Visayas
Posted on January 18, 2015 10:38:00 PM
EIGHTEEN electricity transmission lines -- eight in Luzon and ten in the Visayas -- went out of commission from Friday to Sunday owing to tropical storm Amang, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.
As a result, residents on these two islands were hit by unscheduled power interruptions over the weekend, the operator of the Philippines' electricity grid said.
The grid operator has so far restored transmission service in the municipalities of Sagkahan, Abucay and Campetic in Leyte and Calinog in Iloilo.
Services are also back in Sogod, Liloan, St. Bernard, San Juan, Anahawan, Hinundayan, Hinunangan, San Francisco, Pintuyan and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte.
The line serving parts of Samar -- specifically the towns of Pagsanjan, Gandara, Tarangnan, San Jorge and Matuguinao -- was also back to normal conditions.
The NGCP, however, is still working on the restoration of three more lines that provides power to Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.
Five transmission facilities in Bicol -- affecting Albay and Camarines Sur -- were already energized yesterday.
But those servicing Sorsogon province and parts of Quezon are yet to be repaired, the NGCP said.
"Please note that loss of power may be caused by affected transmission facilities of NGCP or distribution facilities of local distribution utilities or electric cooperatives," the NGCP said.
"Specific cities and municipalities affected by the power interruptions are determined by concerned Distribution Utilities, unless the outage affects the entire franchise area," it added.
The NGCP is a private firm that operates, maintains and develops the country's transmission network since 2009.
The firm is in charge of the transmission of high-voltage electricity through power superhighways that involve an interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related facilities.
It acquired the 25-year concession of National Transmission Corp. in an auction conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. in 2008 where it submitted a $3.95-billion bid.
The NGCP is a consortium composed of the State Grid Corporation of China (40%), One Taipan Holdings Corp. (30%) and Calaca High Power Corp. (30%). -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano