DUMAGUETE CITY – Several parts of Negros Oriental serviced by the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative II (Noreco II) have experienced long hours of brownout for two days in a row beginning early Monday due to the tripping of the Amlan-Siaton 69kV line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
There were at least three different unscheduled power outages which lasted for several hours in certain coverage areas of Noreco II while some towns continue to be without electricity as of this writing as NGCP carried out “pole patrols” to locate the problem or problems along that high-voltage transmission line.
NGCP, in its latest advisory, said an emergency power service interruption was scheduled Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. as it will undertake “line stringing for the re-routing of the 69kV transmission line”.
The first outage was reported at 3:01 a.m. Monday but NORECO II was able to isolate its Pulantubig sub-station here so some parts of this capital had power back on hours later, while the Bagacay (Dumaguete), Dauin, and Siaton sub-stations were still without electricity.
Electricity was restored at 3:21 p.m. the same day at the Bagacay sub-station but the sub-stations in Dauin and Siaton remained without power.
At the time, areas that had yet to be energized were some villages in Bacong and Valencia, and the entire towns of Dauin, Zamboanguita, and Siaton.
By late Monday afternoon, the NGCP said that power transmission services were restored in some areas but those served by the Dauin and Siaton sub-stations were still experiencing power outage “due to a right-of-way concern in Barangay Bagacay here” and that negotiations were carried out with the owner of the private property.
Hours after the mid-afternoon restoration of power, this capital city and nearby areas were again plunged in darkness at 10:39 p.m. with the Noreco II sub-stations in Pulantubig and Bagacay here affected by another tripping of the NGCP’s 69kV Amlan-Siaton transmission line.
The power outage lasted almost eight hours and was restored at 6:51 a.m. Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the representative of a private property owner in Barangay Bagacay in a telephone interview debunked NGCP’s claims of an ongoing negotiation with the power transmission company
He asked not to be named so as not to identify the landowners and avoid further conflict with NGCP. He presented documents to support his explanation that the Supreme Court had ruled with finality in 2005 on a case involving the said private property.
The private property, located in Bagacay, was apparently the same one being referred to by NGCP when it said power could not be restored yet in some areas due to a current negotiation with the landowner.
The representative said that during the two days of power outages, no negotiation took place with NGCP.
NGCP has a pole erected in the middle of that property where the high-tension live transmission line passes through to supply power to Noreco II’s Bagacay, Dauin, and Siaton sub-stations.
The landowners wanted the electric pole with the transmission line removed from their property as it was dangerous, being too close to their home.
Over the years, the problem kept recurring whenever NGCP would trip and they had to locate the source of the problem.
The landowner’s representative said that the NGCP had also previously offered to buy the property, comprising more than 4,000 square meters at PHP25.00 per square meter, the representative said.
“It is unfair that the landowners are being made as an excuse for the non-restoration of power, considering that for many years since the Supreme Court decision, they were accommodating and waited patiently for NGCP to remove its structure,” he said.
The concerned private property owners are expected to issue a statement soon even as the NGCP’s line stringing for the re-routing of the 69kV appears to be a move by the power company to restore electricity in other affected areas. (PNA)
