12-hour power shutdown to hit some parts of Leyte, entire Samar Island

TACLOBAN CITY, Feb. 3 (PNA) -- Nearly half of the region’s households and businesses will suffer 12-hour power interruptions on Saturday due to annual preventive maintenance activities and replacement of tower lines by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The entire Samar Island and some parts of Leyte, including the regional capital will experience blackout from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to NGCP’s Feb. 2, 2017 notice.

The power outage will disrupt Saturday activities of 349,609 households and business establishments in Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and some part of northern Leyte. The figure represents 44.59 percent of the region’s 784,069 total connections as of last year.

“The NGCP will exert all efforts to restore power earlier or as scheduled,” the power transmission firm said in a statement.

Of the 349,609 households and businesses affected, 60,098 are covered by the Leyte II Electric Cooperative; 68,223 by Northern Samar Electric Cooperative; 57,611 by Samar I Electric Cooperative; 75,362 by Samar II Electric Cooperative and 88,315 by Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative.

The supply of electric power in Eastern Visayas is generated solely from the Leyte Tongonan Geothermal Field, which generates a total capacity of 699.4 megawatts, more than enough to supply the power requirements of the region. (PNA)

JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO