Brace for 3-hr rotating brownouts, Meralco says

Citing the limited supply of power, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) advised its customers to brace themselves for three-hour rotating brownouts from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. starting Thursday. Meralco spokeswoman Dina Lomotan says the power supply is limited because the link between the north and south power plants of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, a major power supplier, has not yet been reestablished after typhoon "Basyang." Lomotan says the frequency and length of the brownouts will depend on the available supply of power. Lomotan urges Meralco's customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to conserve electricity. "Ang panawagan magtipid tayo ng kuryente para mabawasan ang oras ng brownout (We appeal to our customers to conserve power to lessen the potential length of brownouts)," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. While Meralco has restored 92 percent of its circuits, it cannot do much if the power from its suppliers is insufficient, Lomotan says. "Iba-budget mo ngayon (We have to appropriate properly the power we get from our suppliers)," she said. In a separate interview, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said they were just awaiting the Tayabas and San Jose transmission lines, which were damaged by Basyang, to resume transmitting electricty to Meralco. Supply coming from the Tayabas and San jose transmission lines is expected to fill in the remaining electricity demand and bring back power to the remaining eight percent of affected areas, where power supply has not yet been restored. "Kung makuha iyan hopefully magiging magandang na ang situation... Hopefully before the end of the day maibalik na ang kuryente," he said over radio dzBB. Zaldarriaga assured its customers that once problems in the Tayabas and San Jose transmission lines are fixed, the rotational brownout will stop. With power in almost all affected areas restored, Meralco's efforts are now focused on "mopping up operations" and bringing power back in isolated areas or places with only a handful of residences without electricity. The areas which will be affected by the rotating brownouts from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. are: portions of Cubao, Balintawak and Diliman, in Quezon City; Dasmarinas, Bacoor and Imus, in Cavite; Las Piñas; Masinag in Marikina; Paranaque; Sapang Palay, Baliwag and Malolos in Bulacan; Batangas; San Pablo, Laguna, and Tagaytay, Cavite. From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., there will be a brownout in: portions of Balintawak, La Loma, in Quezon City; Malabon; Malinta; Tanay, Rizal; Marikina; Dasmariñas and Silang in Cavite; Makati; Novaliches; Tutuban, Malate, Sta. Mesa and Pandacan in Manila; Ayala Alabang; BF Paranaque; HillCrest; San Pablo, Laguna, and Sta. Maria, Bulacan. From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the affected areas will be: portions of Pamplona, Las Pinas; Sun Valley in Parañaque; Sta. Maria, Bulacan; Sta. Mesa, Balintawak; BF Paranaque; Diliman, Kamuning, Manggahan, New Rockwell; North Port; and some parts of Sampaloc in Manila. Click here for more details on the schedule for rotational brownout from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. –With a report from Mark D. Merueñas; VVP, GMANews.TV