4 provinces still without power – NGCP

MANILA, Philippines — The entire province of Bohol and parts of Cebu, Leyte and Samar still have no power as transmission lines have yet to be restored, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said yesterday.

But the Department of Energy (DOE) maintained its target of restoring electricity services in all areas adversely affected by Typhoon Odette by Christmas.

In its advisory, the NGCP said there are 22 138-kilovolt (kV) lines still unavailable affecting parts of Cebu, the entire province of Bohol, and parts of Leyte and Samar Islands.

The grid operator said its line crews were conducting ground patrols to inspect and assess its operations and facilities, simultaneous with restoration activities in areas already accessible.

In a virtual briefing yesterday, DOE-Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) Director Mario Marasigan said that while some sectors still need field assessments, power restoration is targeted to be completed by Christmas Day.

“We still have some sectors that need field assessments. We are requesting particularly the National Electrification Administration (NEA), National Power Corp. (Napocor) to finalize timelines for the full restoration. As far as NGCP, they have already presented their timelines,” Marasigan said.

Primarily, the DOE is targeting to restore power in health and vaccine facilities to continue government’s vaccination program.

“We need to identify in the Department of Health (DOH) and local government unit (LGU) facilities where they keep their vaccines... hospitals and health centers,” said Marasigan, adding that the next priority areas for power restoration are banks, grocery and department stores.

The DOE official stressed that communication is a big hurdle in the power restoration efforts. To help reach power stakeholders in affected areas, Marasigan urged power industry players to directly coordinate with military personnel, who have other means of communication.

73 ECs affected

Typhoon Odette pummelled distribution networks of 73 electric cooperatives (ECs) in Visayas and Mindanao which led to major power outages, National Electrification Administration (NEA)-Total Electrification and Renewable Energy head Ernesto Silvano said in the same briefing.

These ECs cover over 1.2 million households, or around six million people, Silvano said.

As of yesterday, 32 ECs have already resumed normal operations while 10 ECs have started partial power services, but 19 ECs are still without power.

Meanwhile, 12 ECs have yet to submit updates to NEA, including BISELCO, CENECO, NOCECO, ILECO I, ILECO II, ANTECO, NORECO II, CEBECO I, CELCO, DIELCO and SIARELCO.

In off-grid areas, a total of 88 diesel power plants and barges were affected by Odette, of which 55 are partially or fully restored, said Eugene Martinez of Napocor.

Martinez said the typhoon cut power to over 274,000 households in off-grid areas.

In terms of cost of damage to the power sector, Silvano said initial estimates are at P6.99 million and these only cover four ECs namely CAPELCO, LEYECO V, SURSECO I and SURSECO II.

In Cebu, Aboitiz Power Corp. mobilized a team to energize its oil-fired power plant in the heart of Cebu City, operated and managed by subsidiary Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC).

Four CPPC power generator units started delivering 18 megawatts (MW) directly to the Visayas Electric Co. (VECO), powering up priority areas like hospitals, government facilities, and the Metro Cebu Water District pumping stations. - Paolo Romero