ILOILO – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) passed a resolution urging the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to implement immediate measures to avoid widespread blackouts in the future.
The resolution was passed during the PDRRMC meeting with Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. as chairperson on Tuesday afternoon, May 2, at Casa Real de Iloilo.
According to Defensor, the PDRRMC particularly requested NGCP to expand its substation in Barotac Viejo town.
“The substations are part of the protection system and if you strengthen them, we can reduce the risk,” said Defensor.
Also present during the meeting were Engr. Miguel A. Paguntalan Jr., Atty. James G. Balsomo and Engr. Jose Redmond Eric Roquios, general managers of Iloilo Electric Cooperatives I, II and III, respectively. They aso agreed that the expansion of the Barotac Viejo substation could reduce power interruptions.
The resolution further adopted and localized the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Department of Energy to the NGCP:
* update the local leaders, distribution utilities, generators, the DOE, and the Energy Regulation Commission on the status of the grid on a regular basis;
* synchronize the protection relays of transmission, generation, and distribution in the next two weeks;
* finish the Cebu-Negros-Panay 3 (CNP3) backbone project;
* fast-track the signing and the filing of the ancillary service procurement agreement with the ERC; and
* review the reliability of the Visayas sub-grids considering the present significant capacity of the Variable Renewable Energy and sudden change of supply-demand
Moreover, PDRRMC passed a resolution on energy conservation.
“We also have to do our part so that we can contribute to the efficiency of the power system. It also translates to the reduction of the electric bill of constituents,” Defensor said.
Last week, from April 27 to 30, massive power outages hit Western Visayas. (With a report from the Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo Facebook page)/PN
