ZAMBOANGA CITY--The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced Tuesday that it is checking the cause of the total blackout in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula.
“Today at 8:30 a.m., the Aurora Agus 5 138-kilovolt (kV) line tripped off,” said Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP-northwestern Mindanao information officer. "Line patrol is ongoing to verify the cause of the trip off.”
Affected by the total blackout are the electric consumers of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco), Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative (Zaneco), Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative-1 (Zamsureco-1), Zamsureco-2, Misamis Occidental Electric Cooperative Incorporated-1 (MOELCI-1), MOELCI-2, and Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Laneco).
The total blackout occurred a day after Tower Number 60 of NGCP's Balo-i-Aurora 138-kilovolt (kV) line in Barangay Poona Kapatagan, Tangcal, Lanao del Norte, was toppled due to the intentional pilferage of transmission line parts, causing a power interruption at 10:13 a.m. Monday.
This was followed by manual load droppings affecting customers in parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Misamis Occidental, and Lanao del Norte starting at 10:17 a.m. Monday.
Meanwhile, Zamcelco said power was restored on Tuesday in some parts of this city after it managed to acquire 50-megawatt (MW) from the Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC).
Zamcelco said the WMPC, which maintains a 100-MW land-based power plant in Barangay Sangali, shifted to "island mode operation" to supply power to electric consumers in the city.
Zamcelco has a peak power demand of more than 100-MW. (PNA)
