ZAMBOANGA CITY – Vegetation intrusion in electrical structures caused the simultaneous outage Monday of two transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in several Mindanao areas.
Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP-Western Mindanao public affairs officer, said Tuesday vegetation intrusion between Towers 22 and 23 in Barangay Tingin-Tingin, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, caused the simultaneous outage of the Baloi-Aurora 138-KV and Agus 5-Aurora 138-KV lines.
On early Monday morning, power service was cut off in Zamboanga Peninsula and other parts of Northwestern Mindanao when the two transmission lines tripped off allegedly due to uncooperative landowners.
Vegetation intrusion refers to vegetation approaching powerline assets, causing fault conditions that result in a power outage.
Affected electric cooperatives included the Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative (Zaneco); Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco); Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2 (Zamsureco 1 and 2); Misamis Occidental Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2 (MOELCI 1 and 2); and, Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Laneco).
Ladaga said power was gradually restored to the affected areas starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday after the re-energization of the Baloi-Aurora and Agus 5-Aurora lines.
She reiterated NGCP's appeal to the public and local communities not to plant hazardous vegetation along the power line corridors so as not to experience unwanted power interruptions.
Meanwhile, the NGCP said the unscheduled power interruption experienced Tuesday morning in Zamboanga Peninsula, Misamis Occidental and parts of Lanao del Norte was due to a “manual load dropping (MLD)” implemented when the Baloi-Aurora line tripped three times.
Affected were the Zamcelco, Zamsureco 1 and 2, Zaneco, MOELCI 1 and 2, and Laneco power lines.
Immediately after the first outage of the Baloi-Aurora line, the NGCP said MLD was implemented at 8:25 a.m. on 69-KV power lines with Pitogo-Tumaga and Pitogo Tulungatung servicing Zamcelco; Aurora-San Miguel for Zamsureco-1; and Aurora-Calamba for MOELCI 1 and 2.
“Line personnel are now conducting line patrol to determine line fault,” the NGCP said in a statement. (PNA)
