Unstable power supply besets Bohol business

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Bohol province has been reeling from an unstable power supply that authorities said had crippled the island-province’s economic and business situation.

This matter came into the fore of concern after the recent blackout in the entire province, from Saturday till Sunday, practically crippling businesses, leaving their operations in disarray, and forcing some of them to resort to their standby generator sets to maintain power.

It was supposedly a 12-hour blackout, for maintenance purposes, as earlier announced by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) days before the shutdown.

Later on the night, a series of announcement coming from the power distributors in Bohol ensued. It said that power energy will be restored an hour after the supposedly 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and then to 8:30 p.m. All did not materialize however and the blackout continued to more than 21 hours.

Then another power advisory—relayed by mobile phone number 09338515511—said there was “technical problem” in Ubay side after the submarine cable, referring to interconnection of Leyte power grid to Bohol. Finally the power was restored past midnight or Monday dawn.

Provincial Board Member Tomas Abapo Jr. said Bohol is still suffering from lack of power supply since it did not have yet its own generating capacity.

He cited an instance on November 6, when a 12-hour blackout hit Bohol—before the Pacquiao-Vargas fight in the US—hurting the province’s economy and paralyzing businesses.

Similar blackouts also rocked Bohol in the past months, reportedly due to maintenance works of the plants in Leyte, where the geothermal source of power came from.

Abapo said the sad experience of blackouts was reminiscent of the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda that devastated Leyte, exactly three weeks after the magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook Bohol on October 15, 2013.

Provincial officials said Bohol remains powerless to this day, because it is totally dependent on geothermal power supply from Tongonan in Leyte for the province’s 70-megawatt requirement during peak hours.

“Bohol is an island-province that is fully dependent on Leyte for power,” according to a joint statement from the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the Panglao Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PICCI) and the Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants (BAHRR).

It added: “Establishments in Bohol incur additional costs for the acquisition of expensive but efficient and high quality generators and alternative power supplies to avoid hampered business operations during Leyte’s monthly maintenance (whole day blackout), and constant unavoidable brownouts. Additionally, most supplies and materials needed are usually imported from other provinces, thus, logistics on business operations in Bohol are more costly.”

Rosalinda Paredes, a city resident, posted in her Facebook site: “Bohol’s competitive edge as an investment destination is negatively affected until Bohol can find alternative power sources.”

Abapo brought up the power concern before the PB session because he wanted to know the status of what the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group (BEDAG) has done so far.

Governor Edgar Chatto two years ago issued an executive order creating the BEDAG, with the mandate to “ensure continuous, adequate and reliable” power supply for Bohol.

Abapo said the PB will invite BEDAG chairman Emigdio Acierto to shed light on the following queries: “What are the proposals for energy sources? Who are the potential investors? And what’s the timetable in addressing the power inadequacy in Bohol?”

Bohol is served by a little over combined 20-mW from the two hydropower plants and another (hydro) in Balilihan, as well as the Bohol diesel power plant. The province needs more than 60-mW of power during peak hours, according to power distributors in Bohol.

Bohol Electric Cooperative (BOHECO) I and II serve power distribution in 47 towns and the Bohol Light Company in this city. (FREEMAN)