Overloading triggered power line spark, brownout in QC — Meralco

The fire that occurred on a power line in Bungag Compound in Barangay Apolonio Samson, Quezon City that caused a brownout in the area was due to electrical overloading, Maki Pulido reported on “24 Oras” on Friday.

The residents had to stay outside of their houses until the power supply was restored around noontime.

Meralco said this is due to electrical overloading and that to prevent similar incidents, they will install transformers and secondary cables.

“We are remedying the situation by ensuring that we repair it as soon as possible,” said Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarraga.

As of posting time, Luzon and Visayas are still under Yellow Alert, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The available capacity in Luzon is 14,535 megawatts (MW) while the expected peak demand is 13,751 MW.

According to the NGCP, four plants have been on forced outage since 2023, four between January and March 2024, and 14 since April 2024. Two others are running on derated capacity.

"[These make up] for a total of 1,512.7 MW unavailable to the grid," the NGCP said.

On the other hand, the Visayas has an available Capacity of 2,791 MW as against an expected peak demand of 2,530 MW.

In order to lessen the demand, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said government offices are allowed to have a flexible work arrangement. Companies, however, must ensure that the 40-hour work requirement is maintained. Offices must also ensure that there are still employees in their offices to accommodate public transactions. 

“You do not have to ask permission sa amin. You just have to submit sa amin ano ‘yung flexible work arrangement, internal ninyong policy. For monitoring lang po kami,” said Aileen Lizada, CSC Commissioner. 

(You do not have to ask permission from us. You just have to submit your flexible work arrangement, your internal policy in the office. We will only monitor [the work schedule].) — Sherylin Untalan/BAP, GMA Integrated News