Six-hour power outages affect parts of Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The lingering power crisis continues to affect parts of Mindanao which are now experiencing up to six hours of blackouts primarily due to the lack of sufficient capacity to meet growing demands. 

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) yesterday placed the power shortage in Mindanao at 155 megawatts with the system capacity at only 1,064 MW.

This, as Luzon and the Visayas are enjoying high power reserves at 1,894 MW and 345 MW, respectively.

The provinces of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur as well as Zamboanga City are among the hardest-hit with daily rotational power outages reaching up to six hours.

“The power outages could have been avoided if Mindanao has sufficient power reserves. Power plants have to undergo periodic maintenance work. And if a grid like Mindanao has standby power reserves, then such outages could have been avoided,” said Jerome Soldevilla, spokesman of the Aboitiz-owned STEAG coal-fired power plant in Misamis Oriental. 

Soldevilla said STEAG has shut off Unit 2, a 105-MW generating unit, for maintenance work.

The National Power Corp. has also shut off one of the Agus hydroelectric power plants due to technical problems, adding up to the power crisis that Mindanao is now experiencing. 

Meanwhile, the NGCP appealed to local government units to help protect transmission lines that bring power to the distribution plants in Mindanao.

The appeal came a few days after suspected New People’s Army rebels toppled a transmission line in Barangay Madia, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao using an improvised explosive. 

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division reported that the blast felled tower 168 last Sunday night, causing a total power outage in the adjoining areas, including Cotabato City and Maguindanao province.