Blackouts hit polling centers

MANILA, Philippines - Blackouts lasting up to two hours hit some polling precincts yesterday, but the Department of Energy (DOE) said the power situation nationwide was “generally normal” on election day.

“There were minor interruptions but these were quickly addressed,” DOE Assistant Director Irma Exconde said in a briefing yesterday at the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), operator of the country’s transmission highway.

The power interruptions, some lasting only a few minutes, were mostly attributed to line trouble and system tripping. 

Exconde said the outages did not affect the election process, except in Dasmariñas, Cavite, where the power went out in four precincts at 12:10 p.m. and was restored by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) at 2:30 p.m.

The DOE, in its Twitter account, confirmed power outages in Lower Bicutan, Parañaque. 

In Batangas, police reported blackouts at 9 a.m. in Talisay, Tanauan and Malvar towns and three barangays of Ibaan. Power was restored after an hour. A power outage also hit Lipa City.

At the Ricardo P. Cruz Elementary School in Taguig City, a blackout was attributed to overloading due to the use of air-conditioning units, which were switched on shortly after 7 a.m.

Power interruptions were also reported in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu and Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.

The Mindanao Power Watch monitoring of the Mindanao Development Authority recorded a five-minute power interruption in Zamboanga City, which was attributed to a “transient fault” along the distribution line.  

The Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative also reported a brief power outage in the remote barangays of San Isidro, Davao del Norte at 11:47 a.m. Power was restored at 12:33 p.m.

In Barangay Luinab in Iligan City, an electric post fell, knocking out power at midmorning, but no polling precinct was affected.  The line was restored at 11:15 a.m.

Exconde and other members of the Election Power Task Force said the power supply interruptions were quickly resolved.

“Although there were some locations that were reported to have experienced power outages, the Election Power Task Force emphasizes that appropriate action was promptly undertaken and power was restored immediately in these areas through the coordinated efforts of the NGCP, electric cooperatives and distribution utilities,” the DOE said.

Blackouts that hit Metro Manila and many other parts of Luzon last week raised fears of election sabotage or major problems in the automated vote.

Energy officials assured the public that there would be steady power supply on election day.

The DOE said the projected available capacity in the Luzon grid by 7 p.m. is 9,248 megawatts, against a demand forecast of 5,990 MW and gross reserve of 3,258 MW. – With Edith Regalado