Power outages scheduled for Saturday in Visayas

Several areas in the Visayas will experience power outages on Saturday due to the scheduled shutdown of various transmission facilities. In a public notice, the National Grid Corporation (NGCP) said that a scheduled 12-hour power interruption will take place in several areas in the province of Bohol.

The power interruption -- which will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. -- will affect the franchise areas of the Bohol Light Company, Inc.; the Bohol I Electric Cooperative, Inc. and the Bohol II Electric Cooperative, Inc. This is necessary in order for the NGCP to carry out the "maintenance activity at Maasin substation and along the 1380-kilovolt (kV) Ormoc-Maasin line."

Three more electric cooperatives will be hit by 30-minute outages between 5 and 6 p.m. on the same day due to the same maintenance activity. These are the Leyte IV Electric Cooperative, Inc.; the Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and the Leyte V Electric Cooperative, Inc. In another public notice, the NGCP said that the entire franchise area of the Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc. will experience a 10-hour power outage on Saturday. The scheduled interruption -- which will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- is due to maintenance activities along the Wright-Taft-Borongan-McArthur 69-kV transmission line.

A 10-hour power outage -- from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- will also affect parts of the franchise area of the Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative, Inc., due to the shutdown and maintenance of the Maasin substation; as well as the Ormoc-Maasin, the Tam-is, and the Sogod-Maasin transmission lines. "Normal operations will immediately resume after work completion. NGCP’s customers and the general public are advised to take the necessary preparations and precautions for this scheduled interruption," the notices read.

The NGCP is private firm that operates, maintains, and develops the country’s transmission network. It acquired the 25-year concession of National Transmission Corp. in 2008. The firm is in charge of the transmission of high-voltage electricity through power superhighways that involve an interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations, and related facilities.