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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider Defective transformer sparks power outage that cripples Zamboanga City

Defective transformer sparks power outage that cripples Zamboanga City

Published Mar 23, 2026 05:43 pm
PHOTO from Zamcelco FB page
PHOTO from Zamcelco FB page
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Thousands of consumers served by four power feeders of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative are suffering from a debilitating outage caused by a defective transformer.
The four feeders, all located in Zamboanga City's east coast, have not been energized as of 5 p.m. Monday, leading irate consumers to vent their anger and frustration in different group chats and social media.
Consumers complained of the inconvenience of having no electricity which happened at the start of the summer season.
Initial expressions of disappointment quickly escalated to anger and frustration when the outage affected frozen produce and businesses in affected areas.
The outage started at 4 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, due to a leaking oil from a Hyosung transformer.
The cooperative vowed to restore power at 12 noon. But it asked for another extension due to a newly detected leak in the top bushing during assembly.
As of 2 p.m., the cooperative tried to restore power, but the transformer reportedly tripped anew due to a Buchholz relay issue.
At 7:46 p.m., irate power consumers were asked to extend their patience after the transformer oil on its third phase of filtering was found to be contaminated with residue from aging components and moisture from a previous leak.
Zamcelco revealed the age of the transformer. “The transformer manufactured in 1999, is already experiencing aging-related issues which contributed to its contamination.”
Another attempt to energize the transformer at around 2:56 p.m. on Monday yielded no results and  the blackout was more than 30 hours as of posting time.

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Zamboanga City Power outage Zamcelco
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