By Yas Ocampo
DAVAO CITY – Some portions of this city suffered a brownout after winds toppled billboards into power lines in the Ulas Area Tuesday night.
(PIXABAY/MANILA BULLETIN)
The Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), in a statement, said the service disruption occurred at around 8:15 p.m. after a billboard tarpaulin fell on Davao Light's 69kV subtransmission line in Bangkal Junction.
Affected by the power outage were some parts of Ulas, Bangkal, Matina, Ecoland, Boulevard, Chinatown, San Pedro Square, Ma-a, and R. Castillo.
Davao Light performed gradual restoration of power supply in the affected areas between 8:32 p.m. until 9:29 p.m.
This was implemented by temporarily transferring power load to the utility's ERA Substation in Bajada.
Meanwhile, the maintenance crews immediately conducted repairs in the broken primary line.
Another power interruption happened around 11:20 p.m. in the same areas in order to return the load to its normal set-up.
This was fully completed around 11:47 p.m., the DLPC said.
“Davao Light deeply apologizes for the inconvenience of these unscheduled power interruptions that are beyond its control,” the water utility said.
The incident occurred as the city said it was considering the prohibition of large format following a Supreme Court decision on a local ordinance regulating the billboards.
The city ordinance, Ordinance No. 092-2000, was questioned at the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals, with the appellate court supporting the decision of the regional court.
The ordinance prohibits large format billboards from covering up the view of Mt. Apo.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the CA, effectively ruling the ordinance constitutional.
In an earlier appearance, city council public peace and safety committee chair Ma. Belen Acosta said that there needed to be an implementation of the ordinance, as this was not yet amended.
Tuesday night’s rains and winds left some portions of the city powerless for a few hours before midnight.