NGCP energizes Compostela-Daanbantayan Line following magnitude 6.9 Cebu earthquake

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Thursday said it achieved key restoration efforts in the Visayas Grid, following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Cebu last week, the strongest to hit the area to date.

In an advisory, the NGCP said it successfully energized the Compostela-Daanbantayan 230-kilovolt Line 1 at 2:18 a.m. on Tuesday, October 7, while restoration works are ongoing for the Daanbantayan-Tabago 230-kilovolt Line 1.

The agency earlier energized the Daanbantayan-Tabango 230-kilovolt Line 2 or the submarine cable linking Cebu and Leyte at 9:38 a.m. on October 3.

“NGCP is working round the clock to ensure the stability and normal grid operations in Visayas following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake. Our teams on the ground continue their restoration and repair works to bolster the reliability of the transmission network,” it said.

Bogo, Cebu was hit by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the area last Tuesday evening, with a depth of 5 kilometers and tectonic in origin.

Latest data available from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that the death toll was recorded at 74, with 559 injured, with the numbers subject to validation. There were some 189,620 families or 666,439 individuals affected.

More than 30 sinkholes have since emerged in San Remigio, Cebu following the earthquake, with authorities expecting that the number could still rise. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA Integrated News