Tripping of the transmission lines of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) led to massive power interruptions in most parts of Bacolod and the neighboring localities past midnight on Tuesday.
Jose Taniongon, manager of Ceneco’s Unified Engineering, Operations and Maintenance Department, said that three out of the four 69 kilovolt (KV) transmission lines went offline.
“There was a short circuit and the installed protective equipment prevents damage to the line by tripping,” he added.
Taniongon said the minimal rain early Tuesday morning triggered a breakdown of the insulator, which is supposed to protect the 69KV line from short circuit, after attracting heavy dust due to prolonged dry weather.
In its advisory, Ceneco said at 12:19 a.m., the Bacolod-Reclamation 69KV transmission line “automatically tripped due to the activation of its protective equipment”.
Affected were areas covered by the Gonzaga and Reclamation feeders that supply electricity in residential and commercial areas situated near and around the downtown area.
Power supply was restored at 4:30 a.m. in certain areas while in other locations, a few hours later.
A power outage occurred at 12:33 a.m. in the areas supplied by Talisay, Lopez and Panaogao feeders after the Bacolod-Silay 69KV transmission line tripped, affecting consumers in the cities of Talisay and Silay, where electricity was restored starting less than an hour later.
At 1:39 a.m., the Bacolod-Bata 69KV transmission line also went offline, causing a brownout in the areas covered by the Burgos and Mountain View feeders in the northern part of the city.
In the south, the Bacolod-San Enrique 69KV transmission line of the NGCP tripped at 1:34 a.m., affecting the Ceneco substations in Sum-ag, Bacolod City, and Lag-asan in Bago City.
There was also power outage in areas covered by the substations in Valladolid and San Enrique towns and in La Carlota City under the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco).
The Bacolod-Calumangan 69KV line section was energized at 3:13 a.m. to restore power in the affected areas, the NGCP said in a statement.*PNA