NGCP completes restoration of storm Paeng’s affected transmission facilities
By Myrna M. Velasco – November 1, 2022, 3:22 PM
from Manila Bulletin
Transmission firm National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has completed electricity service restoration work on more than 60 transmission lines that had been pummeled by the strike of severe tropical storm Paeng in the country over the weekend.
According to the company, its facilities affected by the blustery weather had been 12 transmission lines of 230-kilovolt (kV) scale; at least three 138-kV lines; and 48 transmission lines that are of 69kV capacity.
“Normalization of the Luzon grid came after NGCP restored the last affected La Trinidad-Sagada 69kV line at 9:03PM on October 31,” the company said, specifying that “transmission services in other affected areas are now under normal operations.”
NGCP earlier deployed at least 600 personnel or about 73 line gangs to guarantee fast-track repair activities, that way, power can be brought back immediately in the storm-whacked areas across large swathes in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The transmission firm emphasized that “the remaining unavailable Binga-Nagsaag 230kV line is a backbone line and is not connected to any power customer.”
NGCP qualified though that the full return of electricity services at household levels as well as to other end-users like businesses and commercial establishments, has to be coordinated directly with their servicing distribution utilities (DUs) or electric cooperatives.
At the DU level, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) stated that the number of customers yet to regain their electricity service had already been pared to 13,168 – that was as of 9:00am on Tuesday (November 1), which is already a huge downturn from more than 4.0 million customers that had been distressed with momentary and sustained power interruptions at the course of the passage of the severe tropical storm.
The power firm specified that majority of its customers still suffering from power outages are those in Laguna, and the rest are in Quezon, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal, as well as some parts of Metro Manila.
Meralco Vice President Joe Zaldarriaga said “we are now on the last mile of our restoration activities,” emphasizing that “while there are still few isolated areas because of flooding, we are optimistic that if conditions permit, we will be able to restore services to the remaining customers within the day.”
He thus continually pleaded for “patience of those who still don’t have their service back,” adding that “our ground personnel and line crew are working round the clock to fully restore power the soonest possible time.”
On the domains served by the electric cooperatives, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) logged damage cost on the Paeng-affected facilities at P7.421 million.
The electrification agency similarly reported that out of the 1,174 municipalities that suffered power interruptions, the level of full service restoration just hovered at 73-percent or 867 municipalities as of Monday afternoon.
NEA further indicated that the ECs had been “directed to conduct damage assessment and line clearing of affected distribution lines and facilities, and to restore service in areas that were not affected by the weather disturbance but temporarily shut off for safety reasons.”
