Power outage hits parts of Mindanao

DAVAO CITY — At least three major cities in Mindanao again experienced a major power outage yesterday after the 138-kilovolt Lugait-Tagoloan transmission line, which is currently being rehabilitated, overloaded.

Officials of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) said the incident was not caused by any sabotage by lawless elements.

"This is mainly due to a so-called line-to-ground fault," Transco spokesman Rufino Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte cited reports from the Transco office in Mindanao as saying that the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Davao and General Santos City experienced the power outage.

Bambi Capulong, spokesman of the National Power Corp.’s Southern Mindanao office, said the power outage started at about 12:58 p.m. and lasted until 2:06 p.m.

Reports, however, said the cities of Butuan, Dipolog, Zamboanga and Cotabato also experienced the power interruption.

Early last March, malfunction in the Lugait-Tagoloan transmission line also triggered a massive power outage in Mindanao.

So far, terrorists have toppled down eight Transco towers in Mindanao. Three of the towers have been repaired, while restoration work in the five other towers is expected to be finished within the next two weeks.

Transco is losing about P2 million for every toppled tower. — Edith Regalado and Donnabelle Gatdula