The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will not be able to energize its Tagbilaran-Garcia Hernandez 69-kilovolt line on Friday, its initial target for partial power restoration in Bohol, leaving Tagbilaran City and most towns still without electricity on New Year’s Eve.
According to Raul Venerando Galano, NGCP Visayas operations head, the previously energized Ubay-Alicia-Garcia Hernandez 69-kilovolt line still had insufficient load to extend power transmission to the Tagbilaran-Garcia Hernandez line.
“Loading in Ubay-Alicia-Garcia Hernandez 69-kilovolt line is not yet sufficient yet to energize Garcia-Tagbilaran,” Galano said.
The Ubay-Alicia-Garcia line, which needs sufficient load for it to be stablized, supposedly transmits power from the Power Barge 104 in Ubay to Garcia Hernandez then to Tagbilaran City.
Galano added that the insufficient load may cause the power barge to trip off once the Tagbilaran-Garcia line is energized.
“Sending voltage of PB104 is still very high, that energizing Tagbilaran will cause the plant to trip off,” he said.
Earlier, Bohol Light Company, Inc. spokesperson Sheryl Paga said BLCI was ready to energize one of its three substations which could provide electricity to essential establishments in select areas in Tagbilaran City once the NGCP energizes its Tagbilaran-Garcia line and transmit power from Ubay.
She said the single substation which has two operational feeders can provide electricity to hospitals, pumping stations, water refilling stations, radio stations, gas stations, cell sites and banks.
On Friday morning, NGCP energized its Ubay-Alicia-Garcia Hernandez line, restoring power in a limited number of areas served by the Bohol Electric Cooperative (BOHECO) II.
According to NGCP Visayas spokesperson Betty Martinez, the Power Barge 104 in Ubay started to transmit power to BOHECO II’s substations through the 69-kilovolt line at 11:20 a.m.
BOHECO II has four substations in Guindulman, Alicia, Jagna and Garcia Hernandez, which are all served by NGCP’s Ubay-Alicia-Garcia line.
However, the power distributor has yet to issue an update as to which areas under their franchise have been provided with electricity.