Election day brownouts hit areas in NCR, other parts of the country

Brownouts hit parts of Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, and Mindanao on Election Day on Monday as repair crews rushed to complete repair work in affected areas.

Manila Electric Co. (MECO) spokesperson Dina Lomotan cited reports about brownouts in Taguig City in Metro Manila, and in parts of Laguna province.

"Meron kaming incident sa Taguig, nawalan ito bago 8:00 a.m. at naibalik naman," she said in an interview on radio dzBB.

Lomotan also mentioned reports about power outages in Calamba, Laguna.

She said a problem was detected with the transformer box of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

On Twitter, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it expected to restore power to some areas of Batangas by 10:00 to 10:30 a.m.

The DOE also said it is verifying a power outage in Lapu Lapu City, Cebu, an area serviced by Mactan Electric.

It likewise reported a tripping in Iligan City that caused an outage in the distribution system. The DOE said pole replacement restoration may be completed by 1:00 p.m.



Power outlook

Meanwhile, figures from the NGCP indicated that Mindanao may still face a possible energy deficit on Election Day.

In its power situation outlook for Mindanao as of 4:00 p.m. Sunday, the NGCP indicated peak demand may exceed system capacity for the day.

The NGCP said Mindanao may have a system capacity of 1,151 megawatts throughout the day, but the peak demand may be 1,174 megawatts in the morning, 1,159 in the afternoon, and 1,222 in the evening.

Such figures may translate to a deficit in gross reserves of 23 megawatts in the morning, 8 megawatts in the afternoon, and 55 megawatts in the evening, the NGCP said.

However, for Luzon and Visayas, the NGCP indicated enough reserve power, including 2,186 megawatts for Luzon and 390 megawatts for Visayas as of 6 a.m. Monday.

The NGCP's 6:00 a.m. power situation outlook indicated a system capacity of 8,815 megawatts for Luzon, with demand likely to peak at 6,629 megawatts.

In Visayas, the NGCP said the power outlook indicated a system capacity of 1,764 megawatts and a likely peak demand of 1,374 megawatts.

On Saturday, the DOE indicated sufficient power reserves for Mindanao on Election Day, with a capacity of 1,322 megawatts for the day.

However, at the time, it only projected the peak demand for the day at 994 megawatts in the morning, 998 megawatts in the afternoon, and 1,128 megawatts in the evening.

On May 10, the DOE asked gas stations, especially those in Mindanao, to use their own generator sets on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Election Power Task Force, where the DOE is a member, expressed gratitude to major mall chains for heeding its call to reduce power demand on Election Day.

In Department Circular DC2013-05-0007 dated May 10, the DOE noted thin reserves in Mindanao "despite the directive to run all power plants at full capacity particularly the hydropower plant."

Taguig voting

Meanwhile, according to GMA reporter Steve Dailisan, the Ricardo Elementary School in Lower Bicutan Taguig City experienced a power interruption after a transformer exploded.

However, voting in Taguig continued despite the brownout because the Precinct Count Optical Scanners (PCOS) machines have 12-hour standby batteries.

“[Ang] aga aga pa umuusok na agad [yung transformer] pero kahit papaano nakakaboto naman,” a voter told Dailisan in an interview on Monday morning.

However, Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) are worrying that if the power interruption carries on through the night, it may greatly affect the elections.

The BEI is currently waiting for Meralco personnel to respond and repair the transformer.

Malfunctioning of PCOS machines

Meanwhile, six to seven PCOS machines have malfunctioned in a cluster precint in Taguig City.

According to Dailisan's report in Taguig City, at least 1,000 voters are affected  which has roughly 325,000 registered voters and has the lowest voter turn-out in Metro Manila at 59 percent in 2010.

Those affected were instructed to shade their ballots and be on standby until the PCOS technicians have fixed the machines.

There were also voters who can't find their names in the voter's list in their respective precincts in Taguig.

A Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) representative said that they still can't identify the reason for this.

He said that affected voters should report this to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and go to Comelec Taguig to ask for a certification to vote. - with Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News