NGCP: Transmission lines still down in Quezon, Aurora due to Paeng

Transmission lines in portions of the provinces of Quezon and Aurora remained non-operational due to the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said Monday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, NGCP spokesperson Atty. Cynthia Alabanza said those affected by power interruptions are customers of the Quezon I Electric Cooperative (QUEZELCO 1) and the Aurora Electric Cooperative (AURELCO).

“Dito sa probinsya ng Quezon, mga kustomer ng QUEZELCO 1, partial transmission services. Ibig sabihin, ang QUEZELCO 1, hindi pa rin buo ang access sa transmission services ng NGCP,” she said.

(Here in the province of Quezon, customers of QUEZELCO 1 experience partial transmission services. This means that QUEZELCO 1’s access to NGCP's transmission services is still not complete.)

“Ang AURELCO remains isolated, ibig sabihin wala siyang natatanggap na kuryente,” she added.

(AURELCO remains isolated. It doesn’t receive electricity.)

She explained that the damage in the transmission lines were caused by various debris, such as tree branches, brought by Paeng’s heavy winds.

The schedule of power restoration in these two provinces, however, remained to be unknown, pending the assessment of NGCP.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday, 169 of the 263 affected cities and municipalities were still experiencing power interruption due to Paeng.

The storm also reportedly left at least 98 people dead, 69 injured, and 63 missing.

Alabanza said power services in other areas in the country, aside from Quezon and Aurora, were already restored starting Saturday to early Sunday.

“Ang Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Batangas, Laguna, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, parts of Meralco po affected din siya…lahat po ‘yan naibalik natin. Ito na lang dalawang probinsya ang natitirang inaayos ni NGCP,” she said.

(We have restored power in Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Batangas, Laguna, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, and parts of Meralco. Only Quezon and Aurora are left to be fixed by NGCP.)

She also reported that they were not seeing any major damage in their facilities so far, thus they see no need to set up an emergency response system.

The NGCP’s clearing operations are also ongoing in certain areas. — Giselle Ombay/RSJ, GMA News