BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Electric Power Corp. (NEPC/Negros Power) restored power to more than 40,000 consumers here on Monday, August 26, five days after a series of power outages triggered by the shutdown of the Alijis substation on Wednesday, August 21.

ROEL Castro (left), president and chief executive officer of Negros Electric Power Corp. (NEPC/Negros Power), inspects the Alijis substation in Bacolod City following a series of power outages caused by a damaged old power transformer. (Photo courtesy of Negros Power)

As of Monday morning, the 10 MegaVolt Ampere (MVA) mobile substation energized Alijis Feeders 1 and 3 that were greatly affected by the failed power transformer based on the NEPC advisory.

With this development, the NEPC said that there will be no rotational brownouts due to enough power supply.

On Saturday, August 24, MORE Power, NEPC’s sister company, which recently took over the operations of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco), deployed a 10 MVA mobile substation from Iloilo City to augment the power load necessity of the failed Alijis substation, which caters to seven feeders.

In a press briefing over the weekend, NEPC President and Chief Executive Officer Roel Castro said they took a risk of pulling out a mobile substation in Iloilo even if they could be penalized by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to support the load needs of the substation.

“We will face the penalty when the time comes,” he added.

Castro said that while the capacity of the failed Alijis substation transformer was 37MVA, the demand is at 32MVA.

The NEPC is tying up with nearby substations to distribute power to the remaining feeders of the Alijis substation pending the installation of the new 18 MVA power transformer to replace a 13-year-old transformer damaged due to gas leaks and age.

The new transformer is expected to be installed in two weeks.

Castro said the combined capacity of the 10MVA mobile substation and the newly purchased 18MVA transformer are sufficient to supply the seven feeders while the balance can be distributed to nearby substations.

“We don’t really want this to happen. We don’t have revenues from this and this has brought inconveniences to the consumers and we’re very sensitive to that,” Castro said.

Despite the negative comments against the NEPC due to the recent power situation, Castro said that it won’t affect their mandate to serve their consumers.

“I know this is not enough explanation and the consumers will not be satisfied with this. But bear with us because we still have so much to do,” he added.

Meanwhile, the city government called for an emergency meeting on Saturday to address the power crisis in this city as well as the water problem brought about by the power outages in some areas here in the past days.

“The pecularity in Bacolod is that no power means no water,” Castro said.

Castro said that they provided new generators in two pumping stations, particularly the south area for continuous water supply. PrimeWater also conducted water deliveries in affected areas.

He assured that there is no surge in the electric bills because meters have certain bands that could not affect the reading. “It is always based on consumed energy of the consumers,” he said.

Mayor Albee Benitez, through his spokesperson lawyer Caesar Distrito, said that he advised NEPC to submit a transition plan and timeline to the city council for transparency and progress monitoring.

The mayor reassured the residents that the city government is closely monitoring the situation and working with NEPC to implement immediate solutions and ensure long-term infrastructure improvements for the benefit of residents.