BAGUIO CITY — A 10-hour power interruption will take place in some parts of Baguio City, Benguet province, and the entire Mountain Province from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday (March 23, 2018), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said here.
The NGCP said the power interruption is part of the preventive maintenance and line upgrading to further improve the delivery of electricity in the region.
Melma Batario, Regional Communications and Public Affairs Lead Specialist of NGCP, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday evening the power interruption was set to give way to the annual preventive maintenance of the agency.
It added it would exert all efforts to restore power earlier or as scheduled.
The NGCP will do a replacement of poles and correction of power lines damaged by lighting in November 2017.
“We schedule our annual maintenance every September, but we cannot anymore wait for the same month this year because there are correction and fixing, which have to be done on power lines damaged by a lighting that struck in November last year,” Batario explained.
She added it is NGCP’s goal that by the year 2020, all electric poles in the region must already be steel, thus the simultaneous replacements of poles on Friday.
Batario explained that with the schedule provided by NGCP, Beneco, as well as Aboitiz’ Hedcor, have also opted to do their maintenance operations at the same time instead of having separate schedules.
She explained that the power interruption would affect about 80 to 90 percent of Baguio City, parts of the municipalities of La Trinidad, Tuba, and Atok in Benguet province, and the whole towns of Buguias, Mankayan, Kabayan, Tublay, Kapangan, and Sablan.
Also included in the 10-hour power interruption is the whole franchise area of the Mountain Province Electric Cooperative (MOPRECO).
Batario said NGCP customers and the general public are advised to take the necessary preparations and precautions for the scheduled power interruption.
Beneco, the sole power distribution utility for Baguio and Benguet, said in an advisory that about 118,008 consumers would be affected by Friday’s power interruption. (Liza Agoot/PNA)
