By Joyce Ann Rocamora | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Saturday said full-force efforts are underway to swiftly restore electricity and energy services in Typhoon Opong-affected areas across the country.
In a statement, the agency said on-grid power plants BACMAN Units 1–3 in Albay and Sorsogon (133 megawatts [MW] dependable capacity), as well as the Palayan Binary Plant in Albay (28 MW) have been restored.
On the other hand, the Nabas 2 Wind in Aklan (13.8 dependable capacity) remained on outage as of posting time.
The DOE also reported that nine diesel power plants (DPPs) under the National Power Corporation (NPC) Small Power Utilities Group were fully operational but challenges persist with the following distribution lines (DL):
- 3 DPPs are on standby due to non-operational DL
- 32 DPPs are generating power, but lack operational DL
- 14 DPPs have DL partially energized due to storm damage
On the transmission side, three 69kV (kilovolt) NPC Transmission Lines (TL) in Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro and in Occidental Mindoro were partially energized due to DL faults, while the Masbate 69kV TL was on standby.
The DOE said the NPC Task Force has already deployed restoration teams focused on reducing restoration times in affected mini-grids in Camiguin Island and Cagayan.
As a preventive measure, NPC Power Barges 113 and 120 were disconnected from the Marinduque Grid, and Power Barge 114 was disconnected from the Ticao Grid.
Power supply already up in some areas
Transmission services in Luzon and Visayas, meanwhile, were back to normal with the restoration of the Batangas-Taysan 69kV TL in Luzon and the Calbayog-Allen 69kV TL in the Visayas.
Ambuklao and Binga Dams in Benguet province were conducting controlled spilling operations, with two gates open.Magat Dam, which covers Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao and Isabela, had two gates open while maintaining normal power generation.
The DOE said 32 electric cooperatives (ECs) in 27 provinces across 10 regions were being monitored while 27 ECs were experiencing partial power interruptions.
ECs that were reported under total power interruption were mostly in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon and Mimaropa.
The Task Force Kapatid (Siblinghood), which mobilizes line workers of non-affected ECs, deployed 37 personnel to support restoration and rehabilitation in their assigned areas.
National fuel supply likewise remained sufficient and stable.
All bulk facilities and liquefied petroleum gas refilling plants previously reported as nonfunctional resumed operations as of 1 p.m. Friday, while 37 gasoline stations stopped operations due to damage, flooding and outage.
The DOE said all electric vehicle charging stations were operating normally, except for two sites in San Juan, La Union and San Jose de Buenavista, Antique.
“The strength of our energy sector lies in its unity. The Department of Energy is working hand-in-hand with power generators, transmission operators, and distributors to ensure a swift and coordinated restoration of electricity services,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.
“Through the Task Force on Energy Resiliency, we are mobilizing every available resource, prioritizing the safety of our personnel and the integrity of our energy assets, to bring light back to affected communities as quickly as possible,” she added. (PNA)
