‘Blame NGCP, not us,’ say power distributors to irate residents
ILOILO CITY — Power distributors in Panay are saying that they are being wrongly blamed for the nearly four-hour power interruption that plunged parts of Panay into darkness last Sunday, September 6.
Residents in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo provinces lashed out at electric distributors on social media sites including muchused Facebook.
However, Panay Electric Co. (PECO) Information Officer in Iloilo City, Mikel Cacho Afzelius, maintains that the blackout was not caused by power distributors, but by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the private firm that maintains and operates the country’s power transmission network.
NGCP Information Officer Michelle Visera admitted that the firm’s transmission line in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental tripped at 3:57 p.m. of September 6 due to heavy rainfall.
Visera also admitted that the NGCP incident caused power plants owned by subsidiaries of Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) in Iloilo City to shut down.
While Negros consumers regained electricity after an hour, residents in Panay waited until about 8 p.m. for power to be restored.
Aside from PECO, affected power distributors in Panay Island were Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO), Antique Electric Cooperative (ANTECO), Capiz Electric Cooperative (CAPELCO), and Iloilo Electric Cooperatives (ILECO I, ILECO II and ILECO III).
The NGCP, apparently, is not the only thing that worries PECO. The latter has indicated concern about the stability of the systems of GBPC subsidiaries Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) and Panay Power Corporation (PPC). The former operates a 164-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant while PPC operates a 72-MW diesel fed power plant, both of which supply electric power to PECO and other similar distributors on Panay Island.
“Iloilo City could have had its power restored much earlier than the rest of Panay if PPC’s diesel engine did not malfunction,” said PECO Vice President for Operations, Engineer Randy Pastolero.
“We expect our power suppliers to deliver effectively on their contractual obligations and to keep their equipment in top condition,” Pastolero stressed. (With reports from Jun Aguirre and Albert Mamora Jr.)