CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Many residents here expressed dismay on social media and slammed the main electricity provider in this city for a series of unscheduled power interruptions on Saturday, October 7.
Service from the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company Inc. (CEPALCO) in some parts of this city went out at least four times as of posting time – three in the morning and once in the evening – but was restored in less than 30 minutes to one hour.
“As time went on, Cepalco's service became useless. Always having a brownout without notice,” a Facebook user said in a post.
CEPALCO posted an advisory two days ago informing customers about a scheduled power interruption from October 7 to 8 in parts of this city such as Barangays Carmen, Patag, Bulua, Bonbon, and Bayabas. The advisory said power outage on October 7 was scheduled for 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Sunday, October 8.
The power interruption was set as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) conducted transmission line maintenance on the Opol-Cagayan de Oro 69kV Line on October 1, 2023, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Consequently, CEPALCO will facilitate the load transfer activity of Carmen Substation Feeders to accommodate NGCP's planned maintenance works,” the advisory added.
The electricity provider apologized on Saturday morning to the public regarding the unscheduled power outage that was due to a transient line fault. Cepalco is still investigating the cause of the line trouble.
“This has been the fourth time that the electricity has gone on and off. There were already (houses) that burned because of the (electricity that) went on and off,” another social media user said in post that mentioned Cepalco's official Facebook page.
FIREMEN contain a blaze in Sitio Mulmac, Barangay Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro City, on Saturday, October 7. (Photo courtesy of Menzie Montes, iFM Cagayan de Oro)
Sixteen houses were destroyed in a fire in Sitio Mulmac, Barangay Macabalan, here, on Saturday morning.
Damage to property was estimated at P480,000.
Arson probers are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Macabalan Fire Station chief Senior Fire Officer 3 Dennis Campilan said that they are looking into the possibility that the blaze was a result of the power outage. “It is possible,” Campilan said.
Engr. Ricky Salon, CEPALCO business development department account executive, said he still needs to coordinate with system operations to determine the results of the investigation, but he said the electricity supply, initially, is almost back to normal.
“But hopefully, by tomorrow, it will be back to normal,” Salon said.