Businesses in Mactan Is. told: Brace for power interruptions

NGCP: APRIL 9 TO APRIL 15

Lapu-Lapu City officials will discuss measures to prepare residents and establishments of the upcoming power interruptions scheduled to hit Mactan Island starting April 9 until April 15.

Hembler Mendoza, Lapu-Lapu Tourism officer, said he would meet with acting Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Marcial Ycong to discuss the matter today (Tuesday).

Mendoza said around 80 hotels, 150 restaurants, and several coffee shops will be affected by the power interruptions in Lapu-Lapu City alone.

He said he earlier received a letter from the Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC), informing him of the issue and asking for intervention.

Mendoza was referring to the announcement of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) about power interruptions on Mactan Island on those dates to install its third transformer that could keep power supply in the area stable in case maintenance works would be done in the future.

Ma. Rosette Martinez, NGCP Visayas spokesperson, said the existing two transformers combined could already transmit up to 150 Megawatts (MW) to Mactan Electric Co. (MECO), but one more unit would be needed to serve as back-up in case the other two would bog down.

“This is already sufficient, but remember, we also have to maintain our equipment. When we do, we can’t maintain the two transformers simultaneously. Even if we alternate, we can’t have only one transformer during that time forever,” she said in a phone interview on Monday.

The first power interruption will occur on April 9, Palm Sunday, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. when NGCP shuts down Transformer 1 to give way to the reconfiguration of feeders.

All feeders will be connected to Transformer 2 so power can still be transmitted, said Martinez.

Each transformer has a capacity of 100 Megavolt-ampere (MVA).

From April 10 to 14, only Transformer 2 will be working, estimated to transmit only 90 MW to MECO and other directly-connected customers.
However, Martinez said that the demand from the area can go beyond 90 MW.

She said the dates to watch out for are April 10, 11, and 12, when the demand will be higher than what the transformer can give.

Martinez said the load on April 13 (Maundy Thursday), 14 (Good Friday), and 15 (Black Saturday) is expected to drop lower than on regular days, considering that most commercial establishments will be closed during this period.

She said that they purposefully chose the Holy Week observance as the time to do these activities because these were seen to have the least impact during this time.

She said power interruption is again expected on April 15, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. when reconfigured transformers would be returned to their normal places.