By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Following last week’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Leyte, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) imposed rotating brownouts, or “manual load dropping,” on the Visayas, initially including Bacolod City and neighboring areas, citing a “supply deficiency.”
Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) General Manager Sulpicio Lagarde expressed concern after NGCP informed him they had only allocated 3.9 megawatts to the local power firm.
NGCP eventually agreed not to include Ceneco among the rotating brownouts, although Lagarde still warned of possible power interruptions due to power shortages in the Visayas grid, due to the shutdown of the 300-Megawatt Unified Leyte power plant.
Upon receiving the news, Lagarde questioned the actions of the national firm.
“If NGCP can arbitrarily decide who goes out and who does not, what is the relevance of us contracting to a specific plant?” he asked.
Ceneco currently has power contract agreements with Palm Concepcion in Iloilo; KEPCO-SALCON in Toledo City, Cebu; Energreen in Bago City; and the Palimpinon Geothermal Power Plant in Valencia, Negros Oriental.
The said power plants are all running, according to Lagarde.
Last Friday, NGCP imposed manual load dropping on all Visayas electric cooperatives citing a “supply deficiency.”
Last week, around 60 to 65 percent of Bacolod City suffered a blackout shortly after the 6.5 magnitude quake struck Leyte.
Power was eventually restored./WDJ