BACOLOD CITY – Three localities under the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) were fully energized Friday, three days since the massive power outage that affected some 30, 000 households due to the breakdown of its major substation.
“We have achieved 100 percent power restoration for E.B. Magalona, Victorias City and Manapla,” Noneco general manager Wilbe Bilbao said in a statement.
Power was fully restored to all affected areas as of 10:59 a.m., according to Noneco.
The widespread outage took place after Noneco’s 15 mega volt-amperes (MVA) Victorias substation broke down around 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Noneco connected with the distribution line of the neighboring Negros Electric Power Corp. (NEPC/Negros Power) in Silay City for a temporary supply of two megawatts to restore power to parts of E.B. Magalona.
Also on the same day, the cooperative borrowed the 10MVA power transformer of the southern-Negros based Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative, which was energized early Friday morning.
In a statement, Negros Power president and chief executive officer Roel Castro said they will continue to provide support to Noneco until it fully restores operation at the Victorias substation.
“We understand the difficulties faced by our fellow industry player and neighbor, Noneco, and their consumers during this challenging time. We didn’t hesitate to extend our support by providing them with two megawatts of temporary supply from our Lopez and Panaogao substations,” he added.
Castro assured Negros Power consumers that extending assistance to Noneco will not affect their own capacity as there is sufficient load to meet the demand within the franchise area. (PNA)