Massive power outage hits Western Visayas

MANILA, Philippines — A region-wide power outage hit Western Visayas a day after the New Year revelry, crippling the islands of Panay and Guimaras as well as some areas in Negros.

In a statement, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) blamed the massive outage on the unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of the largest power plants in Panay.

The power interruption prompted the city government of Iloilo to send employees home early on Tuesday and cancel classes the following day. Other local government units followed suit.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas urged the NGCP and Department of Energy (DOE) to solve the power problem.

Treñas said the Regional Development Council’s infrastructure development committee would look into the incident immediately.

By 7:18 p.m., the city’s sole power distribution utility, MORE Power and Electric Co., managed to energize 29.21 percent of its consumers, with priority given to vital installations like hospitals.

Ilonggos took to social media to express their dismay over the blackouts that greeted them on the second day of the year. They complained of sweltering heat, work interruption and leftovers from the previous day’s celebration getting spoiled.

The outage prompted the NGCP to reiterate its call for better energy resource planning as part of the whole-of-industry approach it has been pushing to address the country’s power needs.

The outage isolated Panay from the rest of the Visayas grid.

“We emphasize the need for improved planning to ensure sufficient generation per island, with a well-balanced mix of fuel and technology,” the grid operator said.

Due to the tripping of three of the largest power generating units and the planned maintenance shutdown of a 150-megawatt power generating unit, 451 MW or 68.75 percent of the total 656 MW in-island generation was lost to the Panay sub-grid.

The maintenance shutdown and deration of plants outside the Department of Energy (DOE)’s approved grid operating and maintenance program contributed to the lack of power supply, NGCP said.

It said only four of 13 power plants have been producing 40.3 MW or 6.2 percent of the 83.5-MW demand of Panay as of 9:30 p.m. of Jan. 2.

The grid