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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Zubiri urges DOE, NGCP to step up and solve Western Visayas blackouts

Zubiri urges DOE, NGCP to step up and solve Western Visayas blackouts

Published May 3, 2023 01:53 am
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday, May 3,  asked the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to solve the recurring blackouts in Western Visayas. "The DOE and the NGCP  must  step  up  and  answer  for  the  massive blackouts  hitting  Western  Visayas.  These  are  no longer just  an inconvenience. They are a major problem  affecting  the  economy  and endangering the well-being of our people,” he said. According to the NGCP, in late April, Western Visayas was hit by extensive blackouts, coinciding with  the  height  of the summer  season.  The blackouts  have  also  led to many smaller businesses cutting down their operating hours. In February, the region also suffered a power outage that lasted ten hours, caused by a snake intrusion in rhe Panay Diesel Power Plant 1. Zubiri said the frequency of these blackouts is alarming, and it is on the DOE and NGCP to get their act straight and find long-term solutions already.  "A few minutes of power interruption every  once  in  a  while  is understandable, but frequent outages that last for hours and hours and cause loss of income is unforgivable. The DOE and the NGCP must answer to consumers,’’he stressed. “If they find that we need to amend the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) , then we are open to that. The law is over two decades old, and can definitely be improved to help the power sector serve consumers better, and to help prevent recurring region-wide blackouts like this,” Zubiri said. "We have received  the  administration’s  suggested  amendments to the EPIRA,  and  we  are  already  studying  these,  and  seeing how  these amendments can be further refined to best respond to the problems that we  are  hearing  about  from  the  power  sector  and especially  from consumers. But the  DOE  and  the  NGCP  must  still  come  forward  with  a  clear explanation  behind  the  blackouts,  and  more  importantly,  outline  a solution. We cannot let this be the norm. Our people deserve better than this kind of service,” he added.



Related Tags

Department of Energy (DOE) Senate President Juan Miguel F.  Zubiri National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)
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