Bacolod City is facing a serious power crisis after the unexpected breakdown of the 30/37 MegaVolt Amperes (MVA) transformer at the Alijis Substation. The transformer, which had been serving the city for 13 years, suffered an irreparable failure, leaving several neighborhoods without electricity and causing significant disruptions to daily activities.
The incident occurred around 8pm last Wednesday, August 21, 2024 , when the transformer suddenly developed a major oil leak. Negros Power’s Chief Operations Officer, Engr. Bailey Del Castillo, reported that the inspection revealed extensive internal damage, making repairs impossible. The failure affected all seven feeder lines connected to the transformer. This has cut off power to thousands of homes and businesses across the city.
Temporary Solutions
A new transformer is on the way, but it will take at least two weeks to get it fully operational. Meanwhile, engineers have rerouted power to nearby substations to help cover the affected areas. This is like letting vehicles use a different route to get to a destination. But in this case, use other electric line connections for power to reach the consumers. However, this temporary solution carries a risk of overloading, which could lead to further power interruptions.
They may manually cut off power in certain areas to make sure critical places get an even distribution of electricity. Although this approach is far from ideal, it reflects Negros Power’s acknowledgment of the urgency of stabilizing the power supply under challenging conditions.
Prioritizing Residential Areas
Of the seven feeders that were affected, five serve residential areas while two cater to dedicated clients. Negros Power prioritized restoring the five residential feeders first. However, Alijis Feeder 3 took longer to go online because it needed to connect to a feeder 6 kilometers away, requiring the installation of a new line to establish the connection. As of this writing, the status of the feeders is as follows:
- AF1: Online; tied up to Sum-ag Feeder 1.
- AF2: Online; tied up to Reclamation Feeder 3 and AGF2.
- AF3: Online but load shedding or rotational brownout is implemented
- AF4: Online; tied up to AGF5.
- AF6: Online; tied up to AGF5 and AGF6.
- AF5 and AF7: Large-load consumers are requested to temporarily use their generators.
Sincere Apology and Assurance
Negros Power deeply and sincerely apologizes to consumers for the inconvenience and assures everyone that they are doing their best to restore power as quickly as possible. While they estimate that restoring full power will most likely take two weeks, they have implemented temporary solutions that can provide electricity to affected areas during the new transformer installation.
Aging Infrastructure: A Pressing Issue
The breakdown is a clear sign of the issues with Bacolod City’s aging infrastructure. The system, already struggling to meet growing demands, failed just as the new distribution utility was preparing to start a long-term plan to upgrade the network.
Nagros Power Holds a Press Conference
On August 22, Negros Power held a press conference to address the ongoing situation and outline their response plan. Key points discussed include:
- Exploring Additional Capacity: Negros Power is actively looking for options to increase capacity to better manage the current load.
- Mobile Substations: Negros Power is arranging with MORE Power to deploy mobile substations in Negros as a key option for immediate relief.
- Main Option: Negros Power is considering deploying a mobile substation as one of their primary strategies to address the power shortfall.
- Team Deployment: They are sending teams to different areas to efficiently manage power restoration efforts.
- Most Affected Areas: They have identified the Alijis Road leading to Murcia as the area most severely impacted by the outage.
- Repair and Spare Transformer: While repairs are underway, Negros Power has a spare transformer available to use.
- Purchasing New Mobile Substation: The process of purchasing a new mobile substation is currently underway.
- Peak Hours: Power demand typically peaks around 10 AM to 11 AM and 2 PM to 4 PM, influencing restoration efforts.
- 24/7 Restoration: Negros Power has implemented a 24/7 restoration process to accelerate the return to normalcy.
The Advantage of a Mobile Substation
If this incident had occurred a few months later, Negros Power could have deployed a mobile substation to mitigate the outage. The company has experience with this from its operations in Iloilo as MORE Power. They effectively used a mobile substation there during emergencies. A mobile substation acts as a backup. It allows for rapid deployment to temporarily handle the load while engineers carry out repairs or replacements. This would have minimized the length of the outage and provided a more immediate solution. Negros Power is currently exploring options to deploy mobile substations as a key measure for immediate relief.
An Urgent Call for Modernization
The breakdown of the Alijis Substation transformer has exposed the weaknesses in Bacolod City’s power infrastructure. As efforts continue to restore power, the incident reinforces the importance of advancing modernization efforts. Negros Power remains committed to upgrading the infrastructure and improving reliability, with a comprehensive rehabilitation plan set to begin next month following the approval of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.
Read: A Prevalent Cause of Power Interruptions: Unmanaged Vegetation
