Written by Ritchie A. Horario, Catherine Valente, Johanna M. Sampan, Llanesca Panti and Jefferson Antiporda Reporters
Published on 08 May 2013
| A security guard at the Central Station of the LRT line 1 announces to the riding public that operations have been suspended due to the brownout that affected large parts of Metro Manila as well as Luzon on Wednesday afternoon. PHOTO BY EDWIN MULI |
METRO Manila and many areas in Luzon were plunged into darkness on Wednesday when five power plants were shut down, causing a huge supply deficiency.
The power outage halted trains of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit and interrupted operations in government and private agencies. It also raised fears that the same thing would happen on Monday, when the country goes to polls.
The National Grid Corp. said the massive power interruption was caused by the “unplanned outage” of five power plants—Sta. Rita, San Lorenzo, Calaca, Ilijan, QPPL and Sual 1. These plants, which supply electricity to the Luzon grid, can generate a total of 3,700 megawatts which is about 45 percent of the total electricity requirements of Luzon.
“NGCP assures the public that its transmission lines are secure and fully-functional. It will dispatch available capacities once the power plants are restored and online,” the agency said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Reports from social media said parts of Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan provinces had no power.
Massive power fluctuations were also reported in Makati, Manila, Pasig and Quezon cities.
In a press briefing, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla explained that the 600-megawatt coal-fired Sual plant tripped, triggering a domino effect that affected the other plants.
The senior manager of external affairs at Team Energy, Gregory Romualdez, said “the trip of Sual Unit 1 is due to external factors,” and not by any “internal technical problem.”
“The drop in grid frequency caused by the trip of other plants resulted in an automatic trip of Sual Unit 1. This is a protective system meant to prevent major damage to our facility,” Romualdez said.
Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldariagga said the power outage was caused by a sudden supply deficiency.
“What I can say is around three thousand megawatts ang nawala sa grid,” he added.
Dina Lomotan, also of Meralco, said they had to resort to load dropping in some areas to spare critical facilities like the MRT and LRT from being affected.
However, the two rail lines were not spared.
Malacañang Palace, the Commission on Elections headquarters in Palacio del Governador and Camp Aguinaldo were also left without power.
Polls to go on
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) gave assurances that despite the widespread brownout felt yesterday, the elections will push through on Monday, May 13.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the commission is prepared in the event of a power outage nationwide.
“Kung may brownout man, may standby generators tayo at batteries so hindi makaka-apekto yan (If there will be brownouts, we have generators and batteries on standby so the elections will not be affected),” the poll official said.
Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. also guaranteed that polling precincts are equipped with generators and the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines have a 12-hour reserved battery.
He said generation sets are available in every municipality nationwide, especially in Mindanao.
Jimenez appealed to the public not to immediately connect the power interruption to the polls.
“Election Day is not until Monday, so maybe it will not be affected,” he said.
Palace deputy spokesman Abigail Valte said that Petilla assured President Benigno Aquino 3rd that there will be sufficient power on election day.
“The President was assured that there is adequate power for election day and every step is being taken to ensure electricity supply nationwide on election day,” she added.
However, opposition and administration senatorial candidates expressed concern over the sudden power outage.
Rep. Jose Victor Ejercito Estrada admitted that the power outage is very alarming considering that it happened less than a week before the May 13 mid-term elections.
He noted that the automated election system relies on electricity and any incident of power failure could seriously affect the conduct of the election.
“We are hoping that this is not part of a dry-run for the May 13 elections,” he added.
Former senate president Ernesto Maceda said the power interruption raises concern because it
happened despite of the assurance made by the Energy Department that there is enough power supply this May.
Sen. Gregorio Honasan for his part said that although the power outage in Luzon raises anxiety, the public should remember that there are emergency power sources that the Comelec could tap in case a similar incident happened on Monday.
“We should have planned for energy development without relying on oil a long time ago,” he added.
Rep. Toby Tiangco, campaign manager of the United Nationalist Alliance, expressed hope that the President would do everything within his authority to ensure that there will be continuous power from the day of the election until all candidates are proclaimed.
“A powerless election day will cast doubt on the integrity of elections,” he added.
Reps. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna and Romero Quimbo of Marikina said the Comelec should explain what measures it has prepared for the PCOS machines in case there will be a power outage.
“The blackout is alarming because the Comelec didn’t have any contingency plan to show for the PCOS machines. President [Benigno] Aquino [3rd] should order a probe on this and ensure that this doesn’t happen on election day,” Colmenares, Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said.
“While Bayan Muna supports automated elections, we can’t sacrifice the people’s right to suffrage with faulty elections,” Colmenares added.
No sabotage
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday calmed the public following reports of a sabotage.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., said that they have not received any reports on the cause of brownout that left most parts of Metro Manila in darkness.
“We would like to assure the public that our security and anti-criminality operations are still ongoing,” Cerbo said, denying any reports of ‘sabotage’.
“We don’t have any such reports, but rest assured that the PNP is ready to secure vital installations and ensure that coming elections will be safe and peaceful,” he added.
With reports from Anthony Vargas and Rosalie C. Periabras source
He noted that the automated election system relies on electricity and any incident of power failure could seriously affect the conduct of the election.
“We are hoping that this is not part of a dry-run for the May 13 elections,” he added.
Former senate president Ernesto Maceda said the power interruption raises concern because it
happened despite of the assurance made by the Energy Department that there is enough power supply this May.
Sen. Gregorio Honasan for his part said that although the power outage in Luzon raises anxiety, the public should remember that there are emergency power sources that the Comelec could tap in case a similar incident happened on Monday.
“We should have planned for energy development without relying on oil a long time ago,” he added.
Rep. Toby Tiangco, campaign manager of the United Nationalist Alliance, expressed hope that the President would do everything within his authority to ensure that there will be continuous power from the day of the election until all candidates are proclaimed.
“A powerless election day will cast doubt on the integrity of elections,” he added.
Reps. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna and Romero Quimbo of Marikina said the Comelec should explain what measures it has prepared for the PCOS machines in case there will be a power outage.
“The blackout is alarming because the Comelec didn’t have any contingency plan to show for the PCOS machines. President [Benigno] Aquino [3rd] should order a probe on this and ensure that this doesn’t happen on election day,” Colmenares, Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said.
“While Bayan Muna supports automated elections, we can’t sacrifice the people’s right to suffrage with faulty elections,” Colmenares added.
No sabotage
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday calmed the public following reports of a sabotage.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., said that they have not received any reports on the cause of brownout that left most parts of Metro Manila in darkness.
“We would like to assure the public that our security and anti-criminality operations are still ongoing,” Cerbo said, denying any reports of ‘sabotage’.
“We don’t have any such reports, but rest assured that the PNP is ready to secure vital installations and ensure that coming elections will be safe and peaceful,” he added.
With reports from Anthony Vargas and Rosalie C. Periabras source
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