No maintenance work week before, week after May 13 polls — NGCP

There will be no maintenance work one week before and one week after May 13 to ensure a reliable power transmission system during the midterm polls, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Thursday.

"Based on our planning in collaboration with the DOE [Department of Energy], 'yung two weeks po na period—one week before and one week after the election—we make sure na walang maintenance during that time," NGCP assistant vice president and head of Luzon System Operations Reynaldo Abadilla said during the Senate Energy committee hearing on the recent power interruptions in Luzon.

Since the beginning of April, the Luzon power grid has been placed on either yellow or red alert multiple times, amid depleting reserves due to both unplanned and forced outages of several power plants.

The lower reserves have resulted in rotational brownouts in several areas in Luzon to maintain the integrity of the power system.

The power situation has raised concerns that a power outage could occur on Election Day itself.

Energy officials, however, brushed off these worries and said there will be enough power reserves for the May 13 polls.

"Based sa presentation kanina, supposedly, even during the election period, meron tayong reserve during that time," Abadilla said. — BM, GMA News