• CHERYL G. CRUZ
An almost three-blackout hit Bacolod City and Negros Occidental early tonight, March 1, after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said it monitored an unplanned shutdown of the three units of the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC), based in Iloilo.
There was an unplanned shutdown of PEDC units 1, 2, and 3, with combined capacity of 316 megawatt sat 6:59 p.m. March 1, the NGCP advisory said.
“The unavailability of all PEDC units, and the maintenance shutdown of the 135MW Palm Concepcion Power Plant (PCPC) until March 30 led to the partial blackout in Panay,” the system operator said, adding that customers in Negros and Panay have been affected.
“Investigation is ongoing. Updates will be provided as soon as information from all concerned are made available,” the NGCP said.
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. said that, as of 8:30 p.m., power was restored in areas served by Alijis feeders 1, 2, 3; Murcia feeders 1 and 2; Reclamation feeders 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; and Asdes-Gonzaga feeders 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
At 9 p.m., power was also restored in Burgos feeders 2, 3, 4; Mountain View feeders 4 and 5; Lopez feeders 1, 2, 3; Panaogao feeders 1 and 2; and Hilangban Feeder 1.
Power restoration is ongoing for the remaining feeders, the Ceneco advisory said, adding that “the gradual restoration of electricity is dependent upon the advice of NGCP.”
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative, meanwhile, said that, as of 9 p.m., all affected substations have been brought back online.
The Noneco earlier said the 138kV line of the Cadiz NGCP substation experienced an unscheduled power interruption at around 7 p.m., due to the tripping of the transmission line. This affected E.B. Magalona, Victorias City, Manapla, Cadiz City, and Sagay City.
The NGCP said Feb. 29 that it may implement manual load dropping (MLD) in parts of Negros Island, including Bacolod City, to maintain the integrity of the Panay sub-grid.
It earlier monitored an “emergency shutdown of the PEDC Unit 2, with an 83-megawatt capacity Feb. 28…due to issues internal to the power plant”.
The PEDC Unit 3 (150MW) also went on an unscheduled shutdown Feb. 27, and just reconnected back to the grid at 12:27 p.m., also on Tuesday, the NGCP added. | CGC
