By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Power interruptions are minor inconveniences usually associated with either routine maintenance of power generation facilities and are not typically intertwined with an inadequate supply of electricity.
The latter, however, became a persistent problem that plagued the residents in the island province of Siquijor in Visayas, where rotational brownouts have significantly disrupted the residents’ way of life and affected businesses and schools in the locale.
Such was the scope of the dilemma that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. held an ocular inspection of the Siquijor Island Power Corp. (SipCor) plant on June 11, wherein he ordered the deployment of at least two emergency generator sets (gensets) from Palawan to address the power crisis in the province.
The Chief Executive had instructed National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Antonio Almeda to resolve the crisis in Siquijor, setting June 15 as the deadline for the restoration of stable power supply to the province.
NEA immediately worked on expediting the President’s directive, collaborating with the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (PROSIELCO) to conduct repairs on SipCor’s power generation sets.
A day after President Marcos’ visit to Siquijor, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) reported the arrival of a 2 megawatts (MW) genset from Palawan on board a trailer truck.
The installation of this rental genset, along with other efforts culminated in an increased capacity of 11 MW — more than enough to meet Siquijor’s peak demand of 9 MW, with 1.65 MW in reserve for contingencies.
The genset began operations on June 14, ending several days of rotating brownouts that affected thousands of families, businesses, and schools.
Such initiatives are in line with the Marcos Jr. administration’s focus on ensuring swift and adequate response to crises, both on domestic shores and overseas.
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