Rehab Activities to Cause more Brownouts in Samar – NGCP

Calbayog City, Samar (PNA) — The National Grid Corporation of Philippines (NGCP) has announced that there will be more scheduled power interruptions in Samar Island this year as the firm continues its restoration and rehabilitation projects.

Gerardo Torres, NGCP Visayas operations and maintenance head said that scheduled power outages will be experienced to give way to the installation of almost 500 steel poles.

The activity will directly affect power consumers in Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.

Torres assured the public that the scheduled power interruptions is not weekly and it will also be coordinated with the electric cooperatives in the bid to synchronize scheduled maintenance of their distribution lines with NGCP’s schedule.

The NGCP official explained that the unannounced power shutdown experienced in Samar the past weeks was due to the burned wooden structures caused by a grass fire.

More than 1,000 poles in the area were not yet fully replaced with steel poles and vulnerable to fire accidents, hence the NGCP asked the public to refrain from burning grasses.

The transmission firm has already replaced more than 1,000 damaged structures in Leyte, Samar, and Cebu provinces. He assured that projects will be finished before the end of 2015. (PNA) LAM/SQM/JENNIFER S. ALLEGADO/PJN