ANTIQUE – Gov. Rhodora Cadiao urged the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to take prompt action on the region-wide power outages.
NGCP is the Philippines’ transmission service provider. It has been given a franchise by the government to operate, maintain and develop the country’s state-owned power grid, and controls the supply and demand of power.
On April 27, an unscheduled power interruption hit Western Visayas. A system disturbance affected the Visayas grid, according to the NGCP.
Another one hit the region the following day. Friday’s unscheduled power interruption started at 2:57 p.m., according to the NGCP, due to a “grid disturbance”.
“You have to do something,” Cadiao told the NGCP in an interview with Panay News.
Cadiao said the NGCP should have anticipated the possibility of a power interruption, especially after the Panay-wide blackout in February and the increase in demand for power supply during summer.
On Feb. 20, 2023, the provinces of Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, Aklan, and Capiz experienced a massive “system disturbance, which affected the entire Panay sub-grid,” to which it was later explained that a snake was the culprit.
Cadiao initially planned to meet with Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Raphael Perpetuo M. Lotilla, an Antiqueño, to discuss the problem. But the governor said this may not push through as local chief executives (LCEs) in the region already met with the secretary and other DOE officials on Saturday afternoon, April 29.
The frequent power interruptions, said Cadiao, could adversely affect the business sector and even destroy household appliances.
During Friday’s unscheduled power interruption, Cadiao sought an explanation from Antique Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ANTECO), the power distribution utility of the province.
“At this point, you know Antiqueños are suffering from the heat wave, and we cannot afford to have a brownout. Our business sector is already complaining,” said Cadiao.
She added: “Ang sabi nila (referring to ANTECO) nagtatangap lang man daw sila ng share nila, they cannot do otherwise kasi kung ano lang daw ang ibinigay ng NGCP ‘yon lang daw.”
Measures to conserve energy
Cadiao is urging offices at the provincial capitol and households to conserve energy.
“Let us trim down our consumption of power indi lang na because we want to save but we also want to preserve the little power that ANTECO got from NGCP,” said Cadiao./PN
