TACLOBAN CITY, Feb. 24 (PNA) — A 12-hour power outage will hit the entire Samar Island and some parts of Leyte on Saturday as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will shift its conductors from emergency restoration system to new permanent tower.
In a notice sent by Ma. Rosette B. Martinez, NGCP Visayas spokesperson, said that power failure will be experienced by five electric cooperatives in the region from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“This is to facilitate transfer of conductors from Emergency Restoration System (ERS) to new permanent Tower 35 and correction of strains guys within the 138-kV Ormoc-Babatngon transmission line,” the NGCP said in a statement.
Since December 23, 2013, the NGCP fully restored power transmission to the Visayas grid through the use of ERS.
The Babatngon facility in Leyte supplies power to Tacloban City and the nearby towns of Palo and Babatngon, and three Samar provinces.
Affected are service areas of the Leyte II Electric Cooperative, Samar I Electric Cooperative, Samar II Electric Cooperative, Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative, and Northern Samar Electric Cooperative.
These electric cooperatives are the lone power utility distributors in their respective areas, including the regional capital, with a consolidated 275,381 connections as of end of 2012.
Of the number, 61,597 are covered by Leyte II Electric Cooperative; 56,585 by Northern Samar Electric Cooperative; 48,083 by Samar I Electric Cooperative; 56,509 by Samar II Electric Cooperative and 52,607 by Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative.
“Normal operations will immediately resume after work completion. NGCP’s customers and the general public are advised to take the necessary preparations and precautions for this scheduled interruption,” the NGCP added.
The supply of electric power in Eastern Visayas is generated solely from the Leyte Tongonan Geothermal Field, which generates a total capacity of 699.4 megawatts (MW), more than enough to supply the power requirements of the region. It is being distributed through the NGCPs transmission network. (PNA)
