By Mae Singuay
The six-day power interruption in Negros Occidental’s Victorias City has affected the local government unit’s (LGU) economy.
Victorias Mayor Javi Benitez said the LGU received several information from a local business group that there were some establishments that were really affected due to the outage, especially those businesses that sell frozen foods.
As of press time, the mayor has yet to receive the exact figures on the losses.
The city government conducts a post-assessment pertaining to the losses incurred in the business sector.
“Na-document namon tanan para may proper assessment,” Benitez said.
The power supply was restored in the locality on Sunday night, September 3, after a 15-mega volt ampere (MVA) transformer, lent by the Central Negros Electric Cooperative for the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco), was mobilized from the capital Bacolod City to Victorias.
Earlier, Noneco performed two tests on the transformer but determined that continuing its operation could pose risks.
Most areas in the locality have been energized after the installation of the 15-MVA transformer.
Benitez later found out that in the past several years, Victorias was hit by a power interruption which lasted for almost a month.
He also suggested that it is time Noneco would upgrade their power equipment.
Victorias City and E.B. Magalona experienced power outages for almost a week when Noneco’s 15-MVA substation in Victorias malfunctioned due to stormy weather conditions on August 28.
The substation’s lightning arrester broke down.
An internal inspection of the transformer showed minor damage to its primary bushings.
Parts of neighboring Manapla town, where the Noneco main office is based, also experienced power interruptions.
The outage has prompted localities to set up charging stations and distribute generation sets to the affected villages.
The residents were also forced to travel to neighboring cities of Bacolod, Silay and Talisay to get cellular and internet connections over the weekend./MS, WDJ