EDC working 24/7 to restore power in Leyte Ormoc City Airport resumes normal operations

A low-rise commercial building called New Town in Kananga, Leyte, collapsed after a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Thursday, July 6, 2017.
Contributed by Queene Joy Reforzado

Power plants of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) may be able to restore power supply in Leyte within 10 days when repairs had been done on the damages caused by the magnitude 6.5 earthquake.

“Our team of contractors has been mobilized to work 24/7, safety considerations permitting, to complete the assessment and accelerate return to service,” EDC said in a statement.

“Barring any unforeseen issues, EDC could have about 317 MW (megawatts) of power restored to Leyte within the next 10 days,” it added.

The statement said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi inspected the facilities along with EDC President Richard Tantoco, who had been at the site since Friday.

Based on the ongoing assessment, the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant Unit 1 may not be operational for some time due to damage to the cooling tower.

Unit 2 with power capacity of 35 MW may be operational in the next seven to 10 days as tests on the unit and the main transformer as well as cooling tower repair needed to be performed.

The Upper Mahiao plant would be operational in five to seven days, bringing 132 MW back to the grid.

Units 1 and 2 of the Malitbog power plant were estimated to return to service within the next seven to 10 days bringing about 150 MW of power back online.

“Unit 3 however, will remain on shutdown due to damage sustained by the cooling tower,” the statement said.

“Access to our Mahanagdong plant remains difficult and we have not yet been able to assess the extent of damage. We are still working to clear landslide debris,” he added.

The marshalling station would be in operation in three to five days since the repair had been started.

Aside from transmitting power from the plants, these repairs will also allow the connection of the station to the 230 kV line to Luzon.

Meanwhile, operations at the Ormoc Airport returned to normal on Saturday, two days after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the city.

The Department of Transportation made the announcement on its social media pages, saying it and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had finished inspection of the airport facilities and runway.

The airport obtained potholes due to the strong earthquake that rocked parts of the Visayas region on Thursday.

Cebu Pacific, however, said that it has yet to resume its daily Cebu-Ormoc flights once “the airline’s operational requirements are met.”

“Cebu Pacific, in cooperation with CAAP, is sending a risk assessment team to the Ormoc Airport, prior to the resumption of its flights. This is to ensure that the airline’s operational requirements are met,” it said in a Twitter advisory. /