ERC EYES SANCTIONS VS NGCP, POWER PLANT OPERATORS FOR W. VISAYAS POWER OUTAGE

WHILE an investigation is still ongoing, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Saturday said the government is looking into possible sanction against the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and operators of several power plants implicated in the recent electricity shortfall in Western Visayas.

ERC chairperson Mona Dimalanta said the investigation is being handled by the Interim Grid Management Committee, the same technical group that handled the investigation on the April 2023 power interruption in the same region.

Dimalanta added they continue to gather more information to provide clarity on the incident before resorting to any further measures.

“Ongoing pa po kasi iyong investigation pero so far po, ang nakita natin…nabanggit na rin naman po ng DOE kasi po pare-pareho po kami so far ng datos na nakikita. By next week, mayroon na po kaming additional na documents/additional information kasi po nakalap na namin lahat. Then hopefully mas magkaroon tayo ng paglilinaw,” Dimalanta said in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

Dimalanta also mentioned that there will be sanctions “against NGCP or whoever else is accountable.”

“Kasi hindi po natin basta ine-excuse ang mga planta. Kasi sa anim na planta, meron po ba dun na hindi nag-maintain. Kapag ganun, may penalty din po siya. Hindi lang NGCP,” she said.

As of Friday afternoon, the NGCP has announced that power supply in Panay and Guimaras islands has been restored and transmission operations have normalized.