Masbate Suffering from Irregular Brownouts

Masbate City (PNA) – People here have kept on complaining since Sunday as the entire province of Masbate has been experiencing intermittent brownouts.

Some have brought their complaints to the power supplier through text messages but claimed they had not received answers.

Barbara Anave, Masbate Electric Cooperative (Maselco) spokesperson, apologized to their franchise area consumers for not addressing complaints directed to her by consumers through text messaging.

In her online Facebook post, Anave explained that on Jan. 31, the Maselco received a letter from the DMCI Masbate Power Corp. (DMPC) informing it of the scheduled preventive maintenance from Feb. 4 to March 5 in one of its main generating set, the Niigata 1, which supplies 6 MW power.

She said that even without the Niigata 1, DMPC’s remaining engines can provide more than 15 MW power from the main plant alone in addition to the satellite generators installed in Aroroy and Cataingan to operate on island mode in order to provide a reliable power supply in far-flung municipalities in the two towns.

But things went wrong as Niigata 2, with a capacity of 6.2 MW and was supposed to supply power in lieu of the now-dismantled Niigata 1, went berserk.

It would just stop without any indications, according to the DMPC that has tried much to identify and correct all possible problems but it just got out of hand.

The engine would just shut down without prior warnings, it added.DMPC, in its attempt to provide power, still would start the engine again, and again it would halt automatically, becoming a vicious cycle.

The on-and-off power utterly dismayed power consumers whose appliances were damaged by the sudden upsurge of current when power is restored.

There was no other alternative but to resort to load shedding, according to the DMPC.

The areas outside Masbate were barely lighted and even Masbate City is not entirely provided with its power demand.

Some areas have to experience power interruptions also.

“DMPC has made some adjustments on the engine’s governing system and currently conducting tests on its functionality,” according to DMPC plant manager Amante Rante.

As such, Rante said Masbate will continue to experience intermittent power interruptions while DMPC is slowly loading up its engines, meaning, it is trying to put power back on areas experiencing extended brownouts.

“To avoid damages to motorized appliances, please unplug them when power suddenly shuts down. The sudden surge of current when power returns may destroy/damage your appliances,” he added.

“We shall issue an advisory as soon as we receive official information from DMPC that its engine is ready to provide reliable power supply,” Anave said.

On Tuesday, the Masbate City Council invited both the DMPC and Maselco to shed light on the brownouts.

Engr. Rogato Cos, representing DMPC, apologized while at the same time informed the body that there is, indeed, a mechanical problem with their engine.

He likewise reported that they have consultants currently correcting the problem.

“This morning, I personally talked with DMPC plant manager Engr. Amante Rante who gave me some updates. The problem with their engine was electrical and the computer was damaged, resulting in the engine breaking down without any indications. There were likewise fuel leakages and other problems but the major one would surely create an enormous crunch to DMPC’s pocket, with about Php2 million for the repairs and other related expenses alone,” Alave told the council. (PNA) FPV/FGS/NBT/CBD