Outrage over power outage during maintenance
The long power service interruption scheduled by MORE Power enraged consumers in this city as this aggravated their suffering while wading through quarantine.
Image for illustration purposes
The Philippines, Iloilo City: The long, nearly 13-hour power service interruption scheduled by MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) to carry out maintenance activities enraged some consumers in this city as this aggravated their suffering while wading through stay-at-home quarantine.
The rotating brownouts were due to the preventive maintenance at Substation 2 or the Jaro substation on 17 May. These affected several feeders and subsequently resulted in electricity service disruptions in many villages or residential areas as well as businesses.
Another power outage occurred at the 25 MVA Mandurriao substation the night before, which Panay Electric Co. (PECO) had successfully maintained within nine hours despite it having a much larger transformer.
Consumers’ distress was compounded by the fact that the repairs were undertaken on a very hot summer day, thereby giving rise to inconvenience as well as triggering health risks such as heatstroke or respiratory conditions, especially to the vulnerable population of the city.
Government regulators have been directing power utilities to avoid undertaking “maintenance schedules” during summer months because this is when demand reaches peak, and it is also perilous to trouble consumers with brownouts when temperatures are rising.
MORE Power previously assured residents that Iloilo City’s power supply would stabilise under its watch. But with constant brownouts and this long power outage, disappointed consumers were starting to wonder whether MORE Power was really competent to hand the job.
Source: Panay News