ILOILO CITY – The province of Iloilo, composed of 42 towns and the component city of Passi, sustained a P3.72-billion economic loss from the January 2 to 5 blackout.

THE provincial capitol estimates that Iloilo sustained an economic loss of P3.72 billion from the New Year blackout. (Tara Yap)
Mario Nillos, Iloilo Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) chief, said the amount was calculated based on data from the Iloilo Electric Cooperatives (ILECOs).
Nillos said the amount was derived from the number of hours and the power loss in megawatts (MWs) by the three distribution utilities.
He said they patterned the estimates from the formula used by the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA).
For every 100 MW lost, the economic losses amounted to P111.2 million per hour.
ILECO-I had the highest economic loss at P1.71 billion while ILECO-II had P1.12 billion and ILECO-III P891 million.
Nillos cautioned that the amount is only an estimate since there are other sectors that cannot be quantified for losses, especially in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has earlier said they are eyeing class-action lawsuit against entities responsible for the widespread blackout that also affected Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras provinces as well as the regional capital of Iloilo City.