Power outages hit 3 Negros areas

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines —  Up to 300,000 households in Negros Occidental are reeling from power outages that have been hitting two municipalities and a city since Tuesday.

Consumers criticized the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) for failing to fully restore power.

Noneco general manager Wilbe Bilbao said a power transformer at the Bacayan substation in Victorias City malfunctioned and caused the blackouts.

As of yesterday, Noneco has been implementing rotational power interruptions in the towns of E.B. Magalona and Manapla as well as Victorias.

E.B. Magalona Mayor Marvin Malacon demanded an explanation from Noneco following reports that it may take two weeks for the power cooperative to fully restore power in all 23 barangays in the town.

Residents said the outages affected communication signals and internet connections as well as their livelihood.

In August last year, E.B. Magalona, Manapla and Victorias experienced continued power outages for almost five days after a Noneco transformer shut down at the Bacayan substation.

The blackouts prompted the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) to lend Noneco a transformer to address the problem.

But after a year, the Ceneco transformer lent to Noneco has malfunctioned, Malacon said.

He said he had asked Noneco if the power cooperative would replace the damaged transformer.

Malacon said Noneco’s reason that it did not have the money to buy a new transformer was not acceptable. He said the cooperative’s power rates are high.

He said Noneco owes its clients an explanation, particularly on how the power cooperative would address and put an end to the recurring blackouts.