By Edwin Fernandez
COTABATO CITY, (PNA) — Power had been restored in Cotabato City and Maguindanao after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) fully completed the repair of a transmission tower destroyed by lawless elements in Maguindanao.
Melfrance Capulong, NGCP corporate spokesperson, said power supply for part of North Cotabato, Cotabato City and Maguindanao, had been officially restored Saturday morning.
She said the repairs at NGCP steel tower No. 168 was completed at 7:45 a.m. and power was automatically restored.
Steel Tower 168, situated in Barangay Ladia, Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao was destroyed after lawless elements planted two improvised explosive device last September 1.
The incident caused power outages in portions of North Cotabato, the whole of Maguindanao and Cotabato City.
With Cotabato City and Maguindanao receiving power from Agus and Pulangui power plants in Bukidnon, through the Simuay substation, was cut off by the toppling of steel tower in Sultan Kudarat town, Cotabato Light and Power Company (Colight) were supplied by the Tacurong-Datu Saudi Ampatuan line.
But the Tacurong-Datu Saudi line also tripped off after an “Ipil-Ipil” tree hit the service drop wire of Maguindanao Electric Cooperative which also affected the conductors of NGCP Tower 528 in Barangay Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Following the incident of bombing of transmission lines, NGCP has appealed to local residents where the steel tower was situated to help authorities prevent unnecessary power outages.
It would cost the NCGP at least P2 million to repair a toppled transmission tower which the power distribution firm considers as “distribution losses.”
Capulong said power in the region had been normalized except in some areas where power outages regularly occur due to maintenance works in two major power generation facilities in Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte.