First Posted 06:54:00 11/03/2010
POWER in tourist hub Bantayan Island, northern Cebu has not returned to normal, as the Bantayan Island Electric Corp. (BIPCO) continues to repair power generator sets.
“Hopefully they can repair it at the soonest possible time,” said Bantayan Vice Mayor Geralyn Escario-Cañares.
She urged affected businesses, residents and tourists to be patient.
The BIPCO informed her of a “line fault” in the Madridejos town area that triggered the shutdown to prevent a short-circuit, Cañares said.
“Power generation here is privatized so there’s nothing the municipal government can do.”
Last night, only portions of the Poblacion area in Bantayan town were powered by BIPCO backup generators.
The BIPCO and the distribution firm Bantayan Electric Company prioritized barangay Poblacion in Bantayan town where the island’s only District Hospital is located.
The blackout on Bantayan Island, composed of Bantayan, Santa Fe and Madridejos towns, started around 3 p.m. Monday.
On All Saints’ Day, Saints Peter and Paul Church cancelled evening Mass because of lack of power.
Still, people trooped to the cemeteries with rechargeable lamps and generator sets.
Lack of power on the island started last August when one of two 3-megawatt BIPCO generators was shutdown for repairs.
The needed parts arrived in September but it would take some time to have it assembled.
Mayor Cañares said the other 3-MW genset tripped off on Monday afternoon.
“They’re still looking for the faulty lines. Good that it did not short-circuit or the 3-MW generator set would have conked out,” said Cañares.
Now, BIPCO is using only one 300-kW generator.
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