Electricity restored in 4 provinces hit by Typhoon Ompong

MANILA, Philippines – A week after the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut), electricity has been restored in 4 northern Luzon provinces which bore the brunt of the strongest weather disturbance to hit the country this year.

Aside from the damage wrought by Ompong, power was shut off in the affected provinces as part of pre-emptive measures.

“During typhoons or natural disaster, our protocol demands us to shut down power plants in order to protect our generating sets from mechanical stress that can be caused by distribution line disturbances,” said National Power Corporation (Napocor) President and CEO Pio J. Benavidez Friday, September 21.

In a statement, Napocor said it has both restored power in its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) power plants affected by Ompong and continues to manage Luzon dams.

Napocor supervises eight dams in Luzon as hydro-electric power plants. All in all it has 22 dams in its charge.

Napocor said normal operations have resumed in the power plants of the following provinces:

• Batanes: Sabtang, Itbayat and Basco Diesel Power Plants (DPP);
• Cagayan: Calayan, Balatubat and Minabel DPPs;
• Isabela: Palanan DPP and Maconacon mini-grid;
• Aurora: Casiguran DPP).

Napocor’s Kabugao DPP in Apayao province, on the other hand, remains inoperatve as it awaits distribution line restoration.

(READ: Power lines affected by Typhoon Ompong)

Napocor said it coordinated with electric cooperatives and/or distribution utilities in returning the power back to the grid after clearing operations.

Meanwhile, as of 8 am Friday, Napocor has stopped spilling operations in San Roque dam  as the water elevation reached 275.24 meters above sea level. – Rappler.com