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Saturday, April 23, 2005
Leak, fuel lack reduce supply of Visayas power
POWER supply in the Visayas grid dropped by about 77 megawatts yesterday as one thermal plant and a land-based gas turbine in the Naga, Cebu power complex were shut down.
Cebu will not suffer as much as Negros and Panay, though, as the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and Cebu Electric Cooperative (Cebeco) get supply from independent power producers and not just from National Power Corp. (Napocor).
Salcon Power administrative manager Raul Estrelloso said the Cebu Thermal Power Plant (CTPP) 1 was shut down because of a leak in one of its boilers, while one gas turbine inside the complex simply ran out of fuel.
He said CTPP 1 was supposed to undergo preventive maintenance shutdown last month, but the National Power Corp. (Napocor) did not allow it because some power generators were out.
Had the maintenance work been done, Estrelloso said the leak could have been prevented.
Napocor was scheduled to deliver fuel for two gas turbines at the Naga complex last Monday yet, but failed to do so until early afternoon yesterday.
The thermal plant is expected to be operational again on Monday noon.
Salcon operates and manages the Naga power complex of Napocor.
National Transmission Corp. vice president for Visayas operations Jules Alcantara assured that the shortage will not have a big impact on Cebu, unlike Panay and Negros.
Distribution utilities in Negros and Panay are entirely dependent on Napocor supply.
Veco public information officer Ethel Taneo-Natera confirmed there were no power outages due to the supply shortage.
Veco, though, keeps a contingency plan—spelling out which feeders will be turned off and when—when there is need to shed load due to low supply in the grid. (LAP)
(April 23, 2005 issue)
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