Second District Rep. Aris Aumentado on Monday called on local government units (LGU) to support and help expedite efforts to restore typhoon-damaged power transmission facilities in Bohol.
Aumentado, in an interview over station dyRD, said LGUs should hasten the issuance of permits or resolutions needed in relation to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’s (NGCP) establishment of two new “special towers” that will transmit power from the Leyte-Bohol 138-kV submarine cable to the province’s substations.
The facilities will replace two transmission towers in President Carlos P. Garcia (PCPG) and Ubay towns that were toppled by Typhoon “Odette.”
“Atong e-push ang atong mga LGUs na mo support ug dili gyud magpaalanganin sa paghatag og suporta niini, kinahanglan og full support gyud,” Aumentado said.
Aumentado said that he has also been coordinating with Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in coming up with measures to expedite the full restoration of power in the province or immediate temporary solutions.
The lawmaker has inspected the tower sites in PCPG and Ubay, which are both in the second district, and noted that the towers were indeed severely damaged, assessing that it may take a while for the replacement facilities to be completed.
“Perte gyung gubaa. Wa pa ko kita og naay nag ayo pa, mura’g kanang lugara lang pagpabalik ug pagpabarog mura’g dugay-dugay pa gyud na ang pagtrabaho gawas og paspasan kay dako kaayo na ug taas kaayo na towers,” Aumentado said.
He added that engineers would also need to conduct underwater inspections to check on the Leyte-Bohol submarine cable to determine whether or not this had also incurred damages from the storm.
The NGCP had announced that it will take them at least three months or until the end of April to complete the replacement towers.
In an earlier interview, NGCP Visayas spokesperson Betty Martinez told the Chronicle that the NGCP will be needing assistance from the LGUs of PCPG and Ubay to secure right-of-way for their teams to reach the tower sites.
“It is expected that there will be a lot of teams of NGCP going in and out sa repair sites. We will have people from our right of way, security, engineering, vehicles so baka naa gyuy maagian na mga properties. We’re hoping that we will be given access to properties leading to the repair sites,” said Martinez.
Bohol, which still does not have sufficient in-island power supply, has been largely dependent on energy sources in Leyte to meet its daily power requirements, leaving it vulnerable to power disruptions when generation and transmission facilities between the two provinces are damaged due to disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes
Pending the replacement of the gigantic towers, Bohol will have to rely on the Power Barge 104 in Ubay and the Bohol Diesel Power Plant (BBDP), both owned by the SPC Power Corporation.
However, the barge and the BBDP can generate 32 MW and 16 MW, respectively, which can meet only half of the province’s estimated daily power requirement of around 90 MW. (R. Tutas)