Panay power consumers warned of rotating brownouts
The National Transmission Corporation (Transco) is on the process of expanding its Cebu-Negros grid to improve the power supply in Western Visayas, particularly in Panay island which is at the farthest end of the grid.
Because of this, Transco yesterday met the managers of electric cooperatives in Panay island as well as their other customers and the media to give a briefing on the project which will definitely affect power consumers.
Danilo Zabala, in-charge of the Cebu Negros Interconnection Uprating Project (CNIUP), said power supply from Leyte and Cebu will be cut off during the installation of new submarine lines connecting Cebu and Negros.
He said power supply in Negros and Panay will be affected since most of the power requirements of the two areas still come from Leyte and Cebu.
Zabala said the tentative schedule of power shutdown from the Cebu grid is the following: First will be on February 3, 2008 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; second on April 26 and 27, 2008 where there will be continuous shutdown for two days; and third on June 2, 2008 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Romulo Vito, manager of Transco's Visayas Systems Operations, said because of the shutdown of power connection from Cebu, it is expected that rotating brownouts will occur in most parts of Panay and Negros.
He thus called on the National Power Corporation (NPC), which operates several power plants in the Western Visayas area, to optimize their generating units during the said times.
Vito urged the various electric cooperatives to implement manual load shedding scheme, depending on priorities, in serving their customers.
Iloilo City, on the other hand, will not be affected by the temporary power shortage resulting from the CNIUP as Panay Electric Company (Peco), the city's sole power distributor, gets bulk of its power from Panay Power Corporation (PPC), an independent power producer.
Engr. Richard Eugenio, station manager of PPC, assured that they can supply the power requirements needed by the city even with the shutdown of power connection from Cebu-Leyte grid.
He said by next month PPC's additional generating unit will start operating which means it can already generate from 82 to 85 megawatts of power. Presently, PPC generates 72 megawatts while Iloilo City has a maximum power requirement of 81 megawatts.
Zabala said the completion of CNIUP would greatly benefit Negros and Panay as it would create additional power lines from Cebu which could be used in supplying additional power for the Western Visayas region.