• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez yesterday stressed the need for Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) to immediately replace the old equipment of 11 substations in the grid, of which seven are older than 25 years old.
In a press briefing, Benitez said those equipment would no longer be usable soon.
“Hindi na ni ya mapuslan (it is no longer usable) at a certain point. So, it is very imperative to change it to new ones,” the mayor said.
Negros Power restored power to 48,000 consumers on Monday, five days after a series of power outages caused by the breakdown of the Alijis substation on Aug. 21.
“We don’t really want this to happen. We don’t have revenues from this, and this has brought inconveniences to the consumers, and we’re very sensitive to that,” Negros Power president Roel Castro earlier said.
Despite the negative comments against Negros Power due to the recent power situation, Castro said that it won’t affect their mandate to serve the consumers.
Benitez said that Negros Power will present its detailed five-year program to modernize the distribution facility, before the City Council next week.
Aside from the transformers, Negros Power is planning to change the electrical wirings, which are old and bound to break.
“All of these equipment and replaceable items have to be replaced immediately. They can advance most of the equipment that is needed, so that we will have fewer problems,” Benitez said, adding that Negros Power is investing P2.5 billion for its modernization program. | GB
