Bacolod folk endure power outages due to busted transformer

BACOLOD CITY—Rotational brownouts are expected in some areas here for the next two weeks after a 37-megavolt ampere (MVA) power transformer at Alijis Substation went out at 8:53 p.m. on Wednesday.

The damaged transformer triggered widespread power outages across seven feeders and affected about 42,000 registered consumers, according to Negros Electric and Power Corp. (NEPC).

Power in some areas was restored on Thursday but other areas suffered from intermittent power outages throughout the day.

“Power supply is not expected to normalize for two weeks [as a] rotational load dropping will occur,” said engineer Bailey del Castillo, NEPC’s chief operations officer.

The damaged transformer will have to be replaced with a new unit as the 13-year-old Alijis Substation transformer experienced a significant oil leak, rendering it irreparable in its current state, NEPC said.

The installation process is estimated to take approximately two weeks before the new transformer can be fully integrated into the system, Del Castillo said.

As an interim solution, Negros Power engineers have rerouted and connected the feeder lines from Alijis Substation to nearby substations and feeders, providing a temporary power supply of around 32 megawatts to the affected areas.

Del Castillo said they have asked for help from their sister company, More Power, in Iloilo City, to bring in a mobile substation to provide additional load capacity to minimize the rotational load dropping.

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Del Castillo said NEPC would still be short by 27 MVA but the additional 10 MVA could help. “Hopefully, the 10-MVA mobile substation will arrive in four days,” he said.

He assured Bacolodnons that NEPC was working 24/7 to repair the damaged transformer and restore the power supply.

Del Castillo also outlined plans for the comprehensive rehabilitation and modernization of Alijis Substation and other inherited facilities from the Central Negros Electric Cooperative as part of a five-year program set to commence next month.

This initiative will be initiated following the granting of the certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Energy Regulatory Commission, marking a significant step in NEPC’s role as the new distribution utility in central Negros.