Blackouts hit Boracay, other Philippine tourist spots

MANILA, Philippines — Amid extreme summer heat, Filipinos have expressed their frustration online over power outages in popular tourist destinations like Boracay and Siargao.

Last week, Boracay residents and tourists flooded the social media account of Aklan Electric Cooperative Inc. (AKELCO) following a power interruption that lasted for at least 18 hours.

The tripping of the 69-kiloVolt Nabas-Unidos-Caticlan line caused the power outage on May 4 at 9:48 p.m., which affected parts of Aklan including Boracay island, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

“I’ll be losing sleep again fanning my kids when their rechargeable fan runs out of battery,” a netizen wrote. “Boracay has been experiencing brownouts almost every day,” another online user lamented.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA), which oversees electric cooperatives, said the NGCP traced the issue to a broken cut-off jumper wire on its transmission line in Nabas.

“Repair work was promptly carried out to resolve the issue. As of May 5 at 3:57 p.m., power has been fully restored in Boracay, and AKELCO’s operations have returned to normal,” the NEA said in a statement to The STAR.

Since there are no power plants in Boracay, electricity is transmitted to the island via a submarine cable from the mainland, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

Boracay, recognized by Travel+Leisure magazine as one of the best white-sand beaches in the world, welcomed a little over two million tourists last year, the Malay Municipal Tourism Office said.

In Siargao, tourists and locals were not spared from power outages either, as they also found themselves in the dark last week.

Siargao Electric Cooperative Inc. (SIARELCO) implemented a nearly one-hour power interruption on May 5 due to a tripping of a transmission line. A shorter outage followed on May 6, affecting the entire island.

Last December, a 13-day blackout crippled Siargao following a major line fault in one of SIARELCO’s undersea cables, spurring calls for a state of calamity to be declared.

‘Brownout capital’

Besides Boracay and Siargao, Siquijor also continues to suffer from blackouts, with one social media user even dubbing it the “brownout capital of the Philippines.”

Siquijor Island Power Corp. (SIPCOR) is the sole energy supplier of Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative Inc. (PROSIELCO).

“Generally, power interruptions in (Siquijor) have been attributed to SIPCOR, the power provider. The inadequate maintenance has led SIPCOR to replace the lube oil filters of its equipment to address operational issues,” NEA said.

Latest DOE data showed that PROSIELCO’s peak demand reached 9.3 megawatts as of April 21. Its contracted capacity from SIPCOR, however, only stood at 8.16 MW, indicating a power supply deficit. As such, the DOE has advised the power utility to conduct a competitive selection process to procure an additional supply.

Economic impact

Amid power woes in the country’s tourism hubs, energy consumer group ILAW Pilipinas emphasized that frequent outages and unreliable electric service could lead to financial losses and closure of businesses.

For Siargao in particular, the group estimates business losses of as much as P100,000 per blackout incident.

“Continued power instability threatens business sustainability, job security and the long-term growth of the tourism sector. If this persists, businesses will have no choice but to shut down, leaving many without jobs,” ILAW youth convenor Francine Pradez said.

ILAW officials have urged the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission to enforce stricter accountability measures on electric cooperatives serving key tourism hotspots.

Similarly, they also called for investments in renewable energy, community microgrids and energy storage systems to reinforce power supply in those islands.

“It’s time for our electric cooperatives to step up and ensure a reliable and efficient power supply, especially in key tourism areas where businesses and livelihoods depend on stable electricity,” ILAW national convenor Beng Garcia said.