Parts of Metro Manila, Luzon to suffer power outages today

MANILA, Philippines – Major portions of Metro Manila and northern part of Luzon will experience rotating power interruptions, each four to five hours long, for the whole day today due to the shutdown of the problematic San Jose substation in Bulacan.

The San Jose substation’s transformer bogged down in July last year, causing massive power outages in Luzon and causing prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to shoot up to as much as P18 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

The affected areas are Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela and portions of Bulacan, which includes Guiguinto, Bocaue, Marilao, Meycauayan, Obando, Pandi, Norzagaray and San Jose del Monte.

Also affected is the northern portion of Quezon City including Balintawak and Diliman. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) also assessed that some parts of Manila, which includes Tondo, Sampaloc, Tutuban and North Port Area, are also expected to experience power interruptions.

The power supply at hospitals, railways, media outlets, Congress and Supreme Court, Meralco said, will continue.

Meralco estimates that at least one million people would be affected by the rotating brownouts. – Donnabelle Gatdula