NGCP, DOE and INEC assure no brownout on May 9 polls

LAOAG CITY (April 27) – Energy officials have assured the public that there will be no problems with the power supply here during the May 9 national and local elections.

This assurance was the collective stand aired by officials of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Department of Energy and Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative during a joint press conference held here on April 27.

NGCP representatives said the power reserves in Luzon on May 8 will be 1822 MW, on May 9, 2243 MW and on May 10, 810 MW.

The province has a daily power consumption of 50 MW only.

Engr. Benjamin Saraza of NGCP-Region 1 said that they will deploy skeletal engineering forces in the area during the crucial election period to preempt any power breakdown.

He added that all their engineers will serve in double shifts to address any problems that may interrupt the delivery of power supply.

A week before the election day, no scheduled repair and maintenance work will be made to avoid problems, they added.
During the briefing, the power distributors called on the public to help conserve electricity in order to reduce the risk of tripping by the power facilities.

INEC Engr. Rodrigo Agliam said that coop General Manager Felino Herbert Agdigos had written the top 100 power consumers of Ilocos Norte to reduce their power consumption by at least 80% on election day.

The power officials also appealed to the public to be more vigilant on any suspicious activities near the towers of NGCP, wind farms, and INEC’s electric posts to deter any plot to disrupt the election activities in the province.

In case of power interruption, Nitos Pasalo of the Comelec provincial office said that there is nothing worry because the Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) are equipped with batteries that will last up to 8-20 hours. (tsg)