Blackout hits entire Mindanao grid

MANILA, Philippines - The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) still does not know the cause of the power outage that hit several areas in Mindanao on Thursday.

Lawyer Cynthia Alabanza, NGCP spokesperson, said they have no "concrete information" yet on the cause of the widespread blackout that started at 3:53 a.m.

She said the entire Mindanao power grid being affected is "very unusual," making it difficult for them to speculate on the cause of the power outage.

"When a grid disturbance happens, it could be anything from supply or transmission. It could be anything minor or major, so it's very, very difficult to speculate at this point," Alabanza said in a phone-patch interview on ANC.

In its Twitter account, the NGCP posted an update, which showed that power has been restored in the cities of General Santos, Zamboanga, Pagadian, Cagayan de Oro and parts of Misamis Oriental.

Alabanza said they will be focusing on probing the cause of the power failure after restoring electricity in the affected areas.

However, she said the NGCP cannot yet commit to bring back power in a few hours or within the day.

"We cannot make that commitment because the information is not yet complete and it's unclear what really happened," Alabanza told ANC.