DOE: Panay power outage prevented if Cebu-Panay-Negros backbone was completed on time

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday said the massive power outage that hit Panay Island could have been prevented had the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) completed the transmission lines connecting the islands of Cebu, Negros, and Panay on time.

Earlier this week, Panay Island was hit by a massive power outage due to a multiple tripping of power plants on the island. 

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) had said that the power shortage was caused by the unplanned outages of a Panay sub-grid on Tuesday, January 2. 

The ERC, on Friday, said the power situation in the island has returned to normal as affected power plants in Iloilo are now working again. 

At a press briefing, DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan said the widespread power disturbance that happened in Western Visayas “could have been prevented had the NGCP completed on time the 230-kilovolt Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) Backbone project.”

Marasigan said the NGCP was supposed to have completed the CNP 230-kV transmission lines project in 2020, but the completion date has been delayed at least seven times from the original completion date of December 2020. 

The NGCP is now targeting to complete the project by March 2024.

Citing the NGCP’s Transmission Project Status Report as of October 2023, the DOE said the CNP Backbone project is 99.64% completed.

To recall, the ERC issued a show-cause order against the NGCP in July 2023 over delays in 37 transmission projects. 

In an interview with reporters, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza admitted that the Panay power outage could have been eased had the company completed the CNP project.

“Yes, if we completed the CNP that could have mitigated the situation,” Alabanza said.

On the project’s target completion, the NGCP spokesperson said the CNP is in its “final stages of completion and is partially energized.”

While the project is “certainly on track” for March 2024 completion, Alabanza said it would be possible if there are no unforeseen situations beyond the NGCP’s control. 

She said the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court, halting the construction of several towers for the Cebu-Magdugo line “was among the delays that NGCP cannot control.”

The TRO was issued following a complaint filed by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority as two of the project’s towers were on its property.

Meanwhile, the House committee on energy has set for January 11 the congressional inquiry into the recent power outage that hit the entire island of Panay.—AOL, GMA Integrated News