Despite damaged NGCP cable: Visayan Electric assures no outages in Mactan

CEBU, Philippines — Visayan Electric officials assured Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to immediately fix the punctured cable line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) which caused two brief power outages in Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town.

VECO president Engr. Raul Lucero personally made the assurance during a meeting with the governor. Lucero told Garcia that the power utility company will take full responsibility for repairing the punctured cable and ensure that consumers do not experience any power interruptions moving forward.

In the event of a power shortage, Lucero said a private power plant, East Asia Power Plant, can pick up the load and ensure uninterrupted power supply for the said areas.

“Wala gyoy mahitabo nga power shortage sa Mactan kay naa man pod nakatabang nato ang East Asia Power Plant,” Lucero said.

In a separate statement, the utility company said the Cebu-Mandaue 138kv line (Line 1) had caused brownouts in Northern Visayan Electric franchise area at about 1:52 on April 29, 2024. The power interruption was caused by the Visayan Electric contractor personnel working on line upgrading along U.N. Avenue, accidentally hitting the Cebu-Mandaue 138kv line, which supplies power to the island of Mactan.

The accident caused the NGCP’s System Integrity Protection Scheme to take effect multiple times.  As a result, areas in the northern part of the Visayan Electric franchise experienced brownouts.

But at 4pm on the same day, however, all loads affected by the outage have been transferred to other feeders to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

“Visayan Electric assures that the current set up being implemented is enough to ensure power for the franchise,” it says, adding the contractor personnel who were working on the line upgrading have been taken to the hospital for treatment.

According to Sugbo News, the official Facebook page of the provincial government, while repairs and splicing works to fix the cable line shall commence, East Asia Power Plant will operate as an alternative power source to stabilize power supply in the island. —/FPL (FREEMAN)