Some areas in Bohol particularly those covered by the Bohol Cooperative (Boheco) II will be experiencing power outages tomorrow due to grid maintenance activities in Ubay, said an official of the distribution utility.
Boheco II general manager Engr. Eugene Tan told dyRD Balita that brownouts are to be expected in its service areas from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
According to Tan, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’(NGCP) 10MVA and 5MVA transformers in Ubay will be shut down for an annual maintenance.
Meanwhile, the NGCP will also be connecting its 69Kv Ubay-Tapal transmission line from a substation in Imelda, Ubay to a power barge moored to the Tapal Wharf in the said town, noted the firm’s Visayas spokesperson Betty Martinez.
The operation will cause power outages in several other areas in the province particularly those covered by the Carmen substation.
Earlier, Gov. Edgar Chatto said that the Power Barge 104 of Salcon Power Corporation in Tapal, Ubay will remain in the province until the government has secured a more reliable power source.
The water-based power facility will be stationed in Bohol until the completion of the Cebu-Bohol interconnection project in 2020 or the proposed island-based power plant in 2023, he added.
READ: Power barge to stay until completion of Cebu-Bohol interconnection
“The SPC assured that they will stay under the principle of rate of use,” he added. “No surcharges will be added by distribution utilities to consumers when the power barge is not used.”
Bohol remains dependent on the largely unstable Leyte-sourced geothermal power which has prompted the province to seek alternative sources. (RT)