Power fully restored in Panay

The days-long power outages are finally over after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) fully restored loads to Panay Island.

- JENNIFER RENDON

As of noon of Jan. 5, NGCP announced that it was "removing restriction of demand and is fully restoring loads at Panay Island following the synchronization of the Palm Concepcion Power Corp (PCPC) to the grid at 1:33 a.m. this morning, and their declaration that their unit is now stable."

The synchronization of PCPC, which could generate 135 megawatts, to the grid was apparently the final touch that the NGCP needed to restore the power of Panay Island to normalcy.

With the PCPC synchronization, 347.2 megawatts are being served by Panay power plants, with 5.7 MW exported elsewhere to grid, for a total of 341.4 MW served loads.

At 12:31 p.m., MORE Electric and Power Corp., the sole distribution utility in Iloilo City, announced that all its six substations had been restored following the stabilization of the grid system in Panay.

Just like electric cooperatives on Panay Island, the MORE Power franchise area experienced a total blackout starting at 3:07 p.m. on Jan. 2.