The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) resumed power transmission from Leyte to Bohol today, Apr. 18, 2022, a week after four of the steel towers were damaged following a landslide caused by tropical depression Agaton that resulted in the cutting off of the province’s power connection.
Betty Martinez, NGCP Visayas spokesperson, confirmed that the firm has completed the installation of the Emergency Restoration System (ERS) as of Apr. 17, 2022 and energized one circuit of the Ormoc-Maasin line on the same day.
She added that the Maasin to Ubay line was energized and synchronized with the Bohol distribution utilities at around 10:14 am on Monday.
The Bohol Electric Cooperative 1 and 2 and the Bohol Light Company Inc. all confirmed that the power coming into Bohol from Leyte is now back to conditions prior to the onslaught of tropical depression Agaton.
The ERS will be used to transmit power from the geothermal plants in Tongonan, while the repairs on the damaged permanent steel towers are still ongoing, Martinez explained.
It can be recalled that just after midnight of Apr. 11, 2022, Bohol plunged into a blackout after the power connection was cut as the steel towers located in Baybay City, Leyte were damaged by a landslide.
This prompted Bohol’s distribution utilities to draw power from the Bohol Diesel Power Plant and the Power Barge 104, which are more expensive than the power being sourced from the power plants in Leyte.
The electricity coming from the diesel power plant and the power barge is insufficient to satisfy total demand, thus power rationing among Boholano power consumers ensued, which lasted until early Monday.