House, Senate probes on Panay outage set for Jan. 10, 11

The Senate and the House Committees on Energy scheduled their inquiries into the recent power outage that hit the entire island province of Panay for next week.

Iloilo City Representative Julienne "Jam-Jam" Baronda, who sought an inquiry into the matter, shared a notice of the committee hearing on January 11 on her Facebook page.

Apart from Baronda, Representatives Raul "Boboy" Tupas, Michael Gorriceta, Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, Lorenz Defensor, James "Jojo” Ang, Jr., Dan Fernandez, Raoul Danniel Manuel, Arlene Brosas, and France Castro also sought the inquiry into the massive power outage.

In the Senate, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Raffy Tulfo said the inquiry into the matter was scheduled on January 10.

On Thursday, at least three senators have indicated their intention to file a resolution seeking a parallel inquiry into the matter. 

In a statement, Tulfo said the “rampant failure of the [National Grid Corporation of the Philippines] to do its obligation in operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid is sufficient ground/s to warrant the review and eventual termination of its existing franchise.”

He noted that this was the second major power outage in the Panay and Negros sub-grids as this had already occurred last April 27 to 29,2023.

Earlier this week, Panay Island was hit by a massive power outage due to a multiple tripping of power plants on the island. 

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said it monitored the tripping of Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) Unit 1 at 12:06 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2, due to an “internal issue.”

The PEDC Unit 2, Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC), and other plants then tripped at 2:19 p.m.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) previously said that the power shortage was caused by the unplanned outages of a Panay sub-grid. 

The ERC said it expects the power supply in Panay Island to return to normal by Friday.

ERC chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta said the affected power plants in Iloilo are now working again.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy blamed the NGCP for the latest power disruption in Panay Island.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the NGCP could have prevented the system-wide power shutdown in Panay Island had it proactively dealt with the situation.

The DOE chief also supported a review of the grid operator’s congressional franchise.

The NGCP responded that it was “alarming to hear policymakers immediately make conclusions based on assumptions contrary to fact.”

“We are firm in our position that the system prior to the 2:19 p.m. multiple tripping was normal, and our actions were undertaken within protocols. Any contrary statement is speculative,” the grid operator said in a statement.

“We firmly refute allegations suggesting that NGCP failed in its obligation to stabilize the transmission system.”

The NGCP added that rather than using it as a “scapegoat,” policymakers should be objective in their search for facts and not coddle certain sectors.

“This is not a time to push personal or political agendas, but a time for honest-to-goodness solution finding. We again reiterate our push for a comprehensive industry-wide approach to resolve the persistent power supply issues on Panay Island and elsewhere in the country,” the grid operator said. — Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA Integrated News