Metro Manila, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking accountability from the grid operator following major transmission line disruptions that triggered widespread power interruptions across Luzon affecting thousands of consumers.
In a statement on Friday, the DOE said it has mobilized the Grid Reliability Task Force to conduct a full investigation on the May 13 tripping of the 500-kilovolt (kV) Tayabas-Ilijan and Ilijan-Dasmariñas transmission lines.
This caused a loss of 2,462 megawatts of natural gas capacity from the Luzon grid and disrupted supply from Luzon to the Visayas in a critical supply condition.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the situation was unacceptable.
“Libo-libong Pilipino sa Luzon ang naapektuhan ng mga aberyang nagmula sa Ilijan transmission disruptions at hindi po ito katanggap-tanggap,” Garin said.
[Translation: Thousands of Filipinos in Luzon were affected by the disruptions caused by the Ilijan transmission problems and this is unacceptable.]
“Karapatan ng publiko na malaman kung ano talaga ang nangyari at bakit hindi ito agad nai-report sa mga kinauukulang ahensya,” she added.
[Translation: The public has the right to know what really happened and why this was not immediately reported to the concerned agencies.]
The DOE said two major transmission lines with roughly 12 percent of Luzon’s power supply went offline.
“An incident of this scale demands full technical disclosure, clear accountability, and immediate corrective action,” she added.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has yet to issue a statement.
