Task force reports no major power interruptions as of yesterday

The inter-agency Task Force "Halalan" said there were no major power interruptions during the elections except for the Bolbok, Batangas substation of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) which reportedly caught fire and conked out.

In a press briefing, Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez said there were no occurrence or reports of any major power outages nationwide, adding that most of the agencies’ power systems were prepared to deal with possible problems that could disrupt the conduct of the national elections.

The task force was created by the government to help ensure that the elections last May 10 will be honest, peaceful and orderly. The agencies involved are the Department of Energy, the National Power Corp. (Napocor), National Electrification Administration, Meralco and the National Transmission Co. (Transco). These agencies vowed to guarantee continuous supply of power to the polling and canvassing centers before, during and after the elections.

The task force is also responsible for collecting data regarding any power interruptions and disseminating this information to the public. The Meralco Command Center, for instance, relays to the Napocor any interruption and its cause within the Meralco franchise area.

Meralco said in a statement that its main concern is its substation in Bolbok, Batangas which affected Batangas City and San Pascual, also in Batangas.

Meralco said it is still conducting an investigation to determine reports that the Bolbok substation caught fire at the control room. The power utility said the facility is being repaired and power is expected to resume at the soonest possible time.

The power firm also denied reports that its transformer was shot at Monday evening in Brgy. Bangka, Marikina. It attributed the power failure to mechanical trouble. Power was subsequently restored at around 1:30 a.m. yesterday.

During the period from May 10-11, there were a total of 68 interruptions of 42 circuits that affected 96 polling centers and eight canvassing centers. More than half of the interruptions (54.4 percent) was due to momentary interruptions. Meralco, however, clarified that this did not severely affect the operations of the polling or canvassing centers as power was restored almost immediately after these faults.

Meralco received 45 incidents of "no power" from the polling centers. Of these, 16 were due to various transformer and secondary wire problems and 29 were due to defects on the customer’s loadside facilities. The said complaints, while numerous, were due to the additional loads on the schools’ electrical systems as these were not designed for operation at night.

On the transmission side, Transco reported that except for some isolated cases in the franchise area of the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative in Mindanao and the Binga-San Manuel 230-kilovolt (kv) transmission line in Benguet, its operation remained stable and normal.

On the other hand, the power situation among the private utilities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids remained normal. No power outages have been reported among private utilities.

The power outages reported in Pugaan and Suarez, which are under the franchise area of Iligan Light and Power in Mindanao have already been restored. Distribution line trippings were reported in these areas due to heavy rains and wind.

The NEA reported that because of inclement weather, distribution systems under the franchise areas of electric cooperatives were affected, resulting in some brief power interruptions.