Palace allays fears on brownouts in NCR, South Luzon

Malacañang on Sunday allayed fears the power problems hounding Mindanao may have reached Metro Manila with a series of brownouts scheduled by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).   Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Meralco itself already clarified the brownouts are due to maintenance and upgrade work, and not a lack of supply of electricity.   “Kung babasahin nating mabuti, the interruptions are due to maintenance at hindi dahil sa kakulangan ng supply... [The] power interruptions are not due to supply problems,” she said on government-run dzRB radio.   Valte maintained there is an excess supply of power in Luzon.   On Saturday, Meralco announced it has scheduled brownouts in parts of Metro Manila and Laguna this coming week due to maintenance and upgrading works.   Meralco, in an advisory on its Twitter account, said electric service may be interrupted in the affected areas from April 8 to 15.   "Meralco exerts all efforts to restore electric service as scheduled. However, there are instances when due to unavoidable circumstances, restoration may extend beyond the published schedule," it added. — KBK, GMA News