The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on Monday, May 1, assured that full power has been restored to Negros and Panay, a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the national government would step in to augment efforts in addressing power outages caused by a problem in the distribution system.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo and Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda are also seeking inquiries into the power outages.
An NGCP advisory issued Monday morning said as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday all loads in Negros affected by the system disturbance that caused rotational power interruptions and voltage fluctuations have been restored.
“With the synchronization of generators to the Visayas grid, power stability in the grid has now improved,” it said.
NGCP also appealed for the continued careful and prudent use of power to mitigate sudden consumption spikes during the dry season.
In a separate advisory on Monday, NGCP also said all loads in Panay affected by the system disturbance had been restored as of 3:03 a.m. on Sunday as generation capacity gradually increased and synchronized to the Visayas power grid.
The last generating unit came on stream at 11:49 a.m. on Sunday, improving power stability in Panay power grid, the NGCP said.
Marcos said the irony of the power interruptions is Negros actually has a surplus of power supply.
“The reason for the brownouts is because of the distribution system…so that’s what we will have to look into,” the president said in an interview with the media onboard Flight PR 001 for the United States.
Marcos said the government is trying to manage both the country’s water and power consumption.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo on Monday called on the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission to conduct an in-depth probe on the rotational power outages that hit on Panay and Negros.
Baronda said she will file a resolution on Tuesday, May 2, “calling for a congressional inquiry into the total blackout that has affected Panay Island.”
“We will ask the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and other relevant agencies to explain,” she added.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said President Marcos was aware of the situation and has assured help from the national government.*