Bohol which still does not have sufficient local power source has once again been cut off from the Visayas power grid plunging the province into darkness anew due to the effects of Tropical Depression “Agaton.”

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCO) Visayas spokesperson Betty Martinez has confirmed that power supply from Leyte was cut off starting at past 12 midnight on Monday.

According to Martinez, strong winds disrupted the operations of the NGCP’s Ormoc and Maasin lines which are part of the interconnection that transmits power from geothermal plants in Leyte to Bohol.

“From Ormoc station to our Maasin substation, ang duha ka line ang na out, nag-trip kay kusog man kaayo ang hangin didto,” said Martinez.  

The NGCP has yet to determine what caused the facilities to trip off but she pointed out that it was unlikely that towers were toppled by the storm.

“I don’t expect na naay mga natumba na tower, hopefully vegetation lang,” said Martinez referring to the possibility of toppled trees or branches being blown by the wind into their facilities.

Martinez added that there has been no detected problems in their Bohol facilities due to Agaton.

“Wala tay problema sa Bohol side but ang supply line gikan sa Ormoc ang na out mao ng vulnerable mo kaayo diha sa [Bohol] kay wa man moy power or powerplant,” Martinez said.

The NGCP has yet to come up with a timeline as to when it can resume power transmission as it continued to conduct site inspections to assess the damage caused by the weather disturbance.

Bohol is still reeling from the effects of Typhoon “Odette” which toppled two gigantic transmission towers in President Carlos P. Garcia and Ubay towns cutting off the province from the Visayas power grid from December 16 to February 9.

While the NGCP was able to erect temporary towers and use these to transmit power to Bohol from Leyte starting February 9, facilities of power distributors were also damaged by the storm leaving around half of the province still without stable power connection as of April.

Bohol only has two local power sources, the Bohol Diesel Power Plant in Tagbilaran City and the Power Barge 104 in Ubay which have been used mostly for emergencies.

Both facilities can only meet a small fraction of the province’s entire power demand and are more expensive to use as these are powered by diesel and bunker fuels. (ad)