Brownouts plague election proceedings (Sabong News)

Widespread incidents of power interruptions in roughly 1,500 barangays nationwide plagued voting proceedings during the synchronized national and local elections on Monday, May 9. The National Electrification Administration (NEA), in particular, reported that about 1,456 barangays temporarily lost power, majority of which occurred in Mindanao affecting 768 barangays, followed by Luzon with 437 barangays and Visayas with 251 barangays. In the franchise area of Manila Electric Company (Meralco), 20 cases of protracted brownouts were registered in various areas including Santa Ana, Santa Mesa and Tondo in Manila; Valenzuela City; Batasan in Quezon City; Talon in Las Pinas City; Cavite City, Naic and Amadeo in Cavite; Batangas City; Hagonoy, San Francisco and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; as well as Antipolo and Cainta in Rizal. When asked on the power outages reported in various parts of the country, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi dismissed these power interruptions as “isolated trippings” which are being checked with the DUs (distribution utilities). “There is no problem on supply,” Cusi assured. Within the areas served by the electric cooperatives (ECs) nationwide, NEA noted that out of the 111 ECs which lodged their reports, majority of them or about 61 ECs suffered brownout incidents. By region, the highest scale of power interruptions had been registered in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with 321 barangays affected; followed by Region IX in Mindanao which cover the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur. In Luzon, bulk of the power outages affecting 118 barangays had been in Region II which comprises Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino; and followed by Region IV-B or the MIMAROPA area which is in the enclaves of Mindoro, Marinqudue, Romblon and Palawan provinces. High incidents of brownouts were likewise logged in Region V or the Bicol Region; Region VI which consists of the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Guimaras; Region X which encompasses Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental provinces; then Region XI which covers the provinces of Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Davao Oriental; and Region III or Central Luzon that has the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. As of press time, NEA reported that the brownout-incidents happened between 4:00 to 11am; and there had been “a total of 210 interruptions recorded with an average duration of 70 minutes (one hour and 10 minutes).” The particular ECs strained with brownout episodes include Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative (CASURECO); Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (ORMECO); Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO); Leyte V Electric Cooperative (LEYECO V); Peninsula Electric Cooperative (PENELCO) in Bataan; Tablas Island Electric Cooperative (TIELCO); Dinagat Island Electric Cooperative (DIELCO); Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (DANECO) and Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (MAGELCO). NEA emphasized that the causes of the brownouts had been mainly due to unknown factors (33-percent); equipment failure (16-percent); trees (15-percent) and others (32-percent).” For Meralco, it indicated that the occurrences of brownouts within its service areas had been mainly due to “isolated troubles; and these were immediately addressed and restored accordingly.” The country’s biggest power utility company added that its crew, field personnel and customer care groups “will be on full alert until the conclusion of the elections.” Meralco also issued an assurance, “We have contingency measures in place so that we can immediately address any emergency and trouble. We have more than 270 generator sets and more than 500 flood lights ready to be deployed.”