NDRRMC: Albay power outages affect Legazpi City water supply

The brownouts that have affected parts of Albay province since late May have started affecting the water service in Legazpi City, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.

In its 8 a.m. update, the NDRRMC said this is due to some electric-powered water pumping stations being "unoperational and presently disrupted" due to the intermittent power supply.

"(S)ome electric-powered water pumping stations within Legazpi City are currently unoperational and presently disrupted following the intermittent supply of electricity," it said.

Because of this, it said the local government units of Albay and Legazpi have mobilized Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) teams to provide potable water to "priority" areas in the city.

The brownouts started May 26 when Albay Power Electric Corp. (APEC) cut off power to Barangay Bitano substation for routine maintenance work.

During the maintenance work, it was learned that spare parts were needed for a 20 megavolt-ampere transformation, and rotating brownouts were implemented to avoid further damage to the power distribution system while replacement works were in progress.

While a 10MVA transformer arrived in Legazpi City Monday, a second transformer was still being transported by land as of Wednesday afternoon.

The NDRRMC said a third transformer is due to arrive in Albay on Friday evening to replace an operational but old transformer at Tabaco City substation. — Joel Locsin /LBG,  GMA News