The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative is aiming to fully restore power to EB Magalona, Manapla and Victorias City by Friday, Oct. 18.
As of 6:10 p.m. Thursday the comprehensive testing procedures for the 10 MegaVolt Amperes (MVA) power transformer had been successfully completed and were subject for submission to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines for approval, NONECO manager Wilbe Bilbao said.
“The next step is the relay protection testing, which will be conducted by contractor personnel and witnessed by NGCP personnel to verify the process as part of the standard protocol” before full energization can take place, he said.
Damage to the 15 MVA power transformer at the NONECO Victorias substation plunged 30,000 households into darkness in EB Magalona, Victorias and portions of Manapla at 5:50 a.m. Tuesday but 90 percent of the power had been restored as of Wednesday afternoon, Bilbao said.
Most of the remaining areas without power are in remote locations, he said.
Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power) has augmented power supply to aid the consumers of NONECO.
It has been providing 2MW power by connecting Feeder 3 of its Lopez substation to NONECO’s feeders in Barangay San Jose, EB Magalona, Roel Castro, Negros Power president and CEO, said.
“We understand the difficulties faced by our fellow industry player and neighbor, NONECO, and their consumers during this challenging time,” Castro said.
“We didn’t hesitate to extend our support by providing them with 2 megawatts of temporary supply from our Lopez and Panaogao substations. We hope this will alleviate the inconvenience they are experiencing”, he said.
Castro assured that Negros Power will continue to provide support until NONECO fully restores operations at their Victorias Substation.
He also emphasized that Negros Power consumers should rest assured that this will not affect their load capacity.
“We have sufficient load to meet the demand within our franchise area. However, we will closely monitor our substations to ensure a continuous and reliable power supply,” Castro added.*