Blackout hits parts of Cebu, Bohol, Samar, Leyte

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A massive power outage hit several parts of the Visayas on Friday night, August 20, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The NGCP said the unscheduled power interruption, which started at 11:56 p.m., affected parts of Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Bohol.

“NGCP will a report as soon as soon as all relevant data is consolidated,” it said.

The Visayan Electric Company (Veco), in an advisory posted on its social media account, said their system operations team were coordinating with NGCP to address the problem.

“We apologize for the inconvenience. The whole of the Visayan Electric franchise is experiencing total blackout. We will post updates as soon as they arrive. Thank you for bearing with us,” it said.

Veco said only three towns under its franchise were not affected by the blackout: Minglanilla and San Fernando towns and Naga City in Cebu.

“The rest of the areas in the franchise have no power as of the moment. We are verifying information and will give updates as they come,” it said past midnight on Saturday.

The Cebu-based power utility company later reported that “there is limited power available in the grid.”

At 3 a.m. on Saturday, Veco said that power at the Vicente Sotto Medical Center in Cebu City as well as parts of Mandaue City and Consolacion town have been restored.

“We are waiting for updates from NGCP on the restoration of power in other areas in the franchise,” Veco said.

At 4:56 a.m., Veco announced that power has been restored within its franchise areas that include the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and the towns of Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

In Bohol, most residents were already asleep when the power went out. Many Boholanos, however, went to social media to vent their frustration.

After six hours, power was restored in Bohol.

The NGCP is a privately owned transmission service provider in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s state-owned power grid.

Meanwhile, Kepco SPC Power Corporation has denied videos circulated online that a fire that allegedly happened at their power plant in Naga City, Cebu caused the blackout.

“This is to clarify that the posts circulating online that Kepco SPC Power was on fire and IS the cause of the blackout is not true and is fake news,” Kepco said in a statement that was posted on its social media page.

“KSPC and other power plants in Cebu island appears to be experiencing the same problem. Our technical team is currently checking the situation and coordinating with the NGCP on this matter.” – With Reporters from CDN Digital