Iloilo lost P3.7B during 3-day power outage

FILE PHOTO: An eatery in Iloilo City, in this photo taken last week, continues serving customers despite the widespread power outage that hit Panay and Guimaras islands in Western Visayas during the first week of 2024. —ARNOLD ALMACEN / ILOILO CITYMAYOR’S OFFICE

ILOILO CITY — Iloilo incurred more than P3.7 billion in economic losses during last week’s three-day power outage on the islands of Panay and Guimaras and parts of Negros.

Mario Nillos, head of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), said the province’s three electric cooperatives collectively lost over 3,351.86 megawatts of electricity from Jan. 2 to 5, affecting both residential and commercial establishments.

The PPDO’s computation followed the methodology outlined by the Philippine Independent Power Producer Association in 2020.

They considered a power loss of 500 megawatts in five hours, amounting to P556 million. Breaking it down further, each hour of a 100-megawatt loss equated to P111.2 million.

Nillos said the economic impact of the recent power blackout is more substantial compared to the one experienced in April 2023.

The province, he said, is now grappling with the aftermath of the power outage which significantly affected businesses, industries, and other economic activities.

Nillos said the assessment of losses highlights the urgent need for solutions to prevent similar incidents and ensure the stability of the power supply in the province.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo City government is considering filing a class suit against the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in response to the damage caused by the three-day blackout last week.

Councilor Romel Duron, chairman of the committee on public utilities, said the city is currently gathering sectors affected by the blackout to include them in the lawsuit.

Several lawyers have offered their assistance in preparing and filing the case.

The blackout has caused at least P1.5 billion in economic losses to Iloilo City.

The class suit aims to hold NGCP accountable for the economic losses and disruptions suffered by businesses, industries, and residents during the power outage.

Officials hoped that the legal proceedings will shed light on the root causes of the blackout and prompt corrective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

The NGCP, a private company in charge of managing power distribution across the country, had said they are not involved in power generation issues which are under the purview of power producers such as the Panay Energy Development Corporation and the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation.

The NGCP called for an industry-wide approach to resolve the persistent power supply issues on Panay Island, pointing out that their mandate was confined to transmission of power from producers to grid-connected areas and not in power generation.

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