Power cut off anew in Pantabangan

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija, Philippines – Residents of this municipality suffered yet another blackout yesterday  its third in eight months  after the First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC) cut off power supply to the municipal government-owned Pantabangan Municipal Electric Services (Pames) over P1.7 million in unpaid bills.

Dennis Gonzales, vice president for business development of FGHPC, which owns and operates the 132-megawatt Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Complex, told The STAR that Pames was disconnected from the grid at noon yesterday.

Gonzales said the FGHPC was forced to cut off power because Pames failed to honor its commitment to pay its current account by Feb. 25.

“We don’t want Pames’ bills to pile up so we are constrained to cut off power so they would settle their current accounts at least,” he said.

Gonzales said the FGHPC has installed four generating sets in Pantabangan schools to cushion the impact of the power outage in classrooms.

He added that the firm is installing three more generator sets soon.

Asked if FGHPC is willing to enter into another compromise agreement with Pames over the latest round of power interruptions, Gonzales said they are not inclined to do so.

“There are already three agreements that they have breached so what’s the point in entering into another compromise agreement?” he said.

The STAR called Mayor Romeo Borja Sr. for comment but he could not be reached.