Veco: Probability of power outages lessen

CEBU, Philippines - The Visayan Electric Company has somehow lessened the public’s anxiousness over the reported possibility of a power shortage during the May 10 elections.

Ethel Natera, Veco’s corporate communications manager, said they have now reduced the probability of having a power outage because the Department of Energy and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has given the assurance that there will be no maintenance shutdown of power plants one week before and after the elections.

Natera said that with the latest pronouncement, the public is assured that there will be no major reason for power interruption since “power maintenance” is one of the major reasons why “we experience brown-out”.

The DOE ensures adequate, efficient and reliable supply of electricity for all while NGCP operates 19,425 circuit-kilometers of high-voltage transmission and sub-transmission lines and 23,853 mega volt amperes of substation capacity in Luzon, Visayas, & Mindanao.

Natera however could not give the full assurance of adequate power supply because they have no “power to predict” the exact time of any power interruption since “Veco is just a distribution company and it does not own and operate power plants”.

Veco as a utility only distributes the power generated from the generation plants.

“Lisod sa amoa na part, dili mi katag-an kanus-a mapawong. Limited mi…wala mi power to bring back power supply,” she said.

Engr. Julius Algabre, power system design manager, said other contributing factors that may cause power supply interruptions are “unpredictable occurrence of accident” in construction near distribution lines, equipment failure, storms, and lightning.

He said these are factors beyond Veco’s control.

Armil Logarta, Veco’s distribution services manager, said that if there will be shortage in supply, they will ask for additional supply from its independent power supplier.

Veco said that in extreme scenarios such as when there is no supply coming from the grid through the Leyte-Cebu transmission cable, it will source 73-MW of power from the Cebu Private Power Corporation and East Asia Utilities Corporation for priority loads.

Hospitals, military and police establishments, communication facilities and the water district will be given top priority. (FREEMAN NEWS)