By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Iloilo City’s electric distribution utility announced another round of scheduled power interruptions in Iloilo City this Sunday, May 26.
MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) stated on Thursday, May 23, that the power interruption would start at 5 a.m. and last until 4 p.m.
This is part of the concluding phase of its extensive cleaning operation on its 69kV lines.
While the initial shutdown of the two 69kV lines was expected to affect over 80 percent of the franchise area, MORE Power plans to mitigate this by facilitating a load transfer, which will decrease the outage impact to just 53 percent of consumers.
MORE Power said it would also provide free cold water and mobile charging to affected areas.
Phases 1 and 2 of the cleaning operation were conducted on March 27 and April 21, respectively. These phases only addressed parts of the 69kV lines 2 and 5.
“The primary objective of initiating the final phase of our cleaning operation is to adequately prepare for the imminent rainy season,” said Engr. Bernard Bailey Del Castillo, Vice President of the Network Development and Operations Group.
“The accumulation of dirt on our power lines poses significant challenges, as it can lead to sparks and outages when it rains. Heavy rainfall is required to effectively wash away the accumulated dirt,” he added.
Del Castillo mentioned that the power interruption on the weekend is in preparation for the anticipated onset of the rainy season as forecasted by the state weather bureau.
Safety concerns have delayed work on the lines at the Baldoza junction in La Paz, as both 69kV lines need to be shut off to protect workers near live lines overhead.
“We cannot simultaneously interrupt all 69kV lines due to the expansive working area; hence, we are conducting the process in multiple phases. In addition to facility washing, during the first two phases, we also replaced hundreds of post insulators,” Del Castillo added.
