EXPLANATION. Councilor Rommel Duron, chair of the committee on public utility, moves for the passage of a resolution requesting the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines for a detailed explanation about the Feb. 20 power outage during their regular session on Wednesday (Feb. 22). A system disturbance that affected the entire Panay sub-grid caused the power interruption in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – The city government here has requested the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for a detailed advisory explaining the cause of the over eight-hour unscheduled power outage in Panay and Guimaras islands on Feb. 20.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod, in its regular session on Wednesday, unanimously passed a resolution requesting an explanation in support of the communication sent by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas to NGCP chairman of the board Robert Coyiuto Jr. dated Feb. 21, 2023.
“Until now we do not know what caused that system disturbance. I think NGCP has to explain to the public what really happened because it may happen again. We want to know so that in the future we can prepare,” said Councilor Rommel Duron, chair of the committee on public utility during the council deliberation.
Treñas in his letter said the interruption without any advisory “brought inconvenience not only to the Ilonggos in and outside of their homes but also affected the transactions in both public and private offices and businesses causing backlogs and missing deadlines”.
NGCP public relations department lead specialist Reagan Alcantara, in a phone interview on Wednesday, said they are finalizing the technical report and once completed, an official statement will be issued.
The NGCP, in an advisory on Monday, announced a monitored system disturbance that affected the entire Panay sub-grid at 11:24 a.m. that triggered the power interruption in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo.
The system was restored past 2 p.m., however, bringing back electricity by the distribution utility was dependent on the supply coming from power generators.
“All possible generation forces, were immediately dispatched as soon as the system has stabilized, all surplus energy that we can get but still it is not enough because the demand in Panay is quite big already,” Alcantara said.
On average, the daily demand ranges from upper 300 to mid-400 megawatts depending on weather and usage at a particular time, among others. (PNA)
