Power crisis worries police chief

THE police have urged the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) management to come up with a fix schedule of brownouts daily in the city.

Zamboanga City police officer-in-charge Edwin de Ocampo made the call as he expressed concerns that the peace and order condition of this city might be affected by the worsening power crisis.

Zamboanga City had been experiencing seven to eight hours of unannounced rotational blackout daily due to reduced water level in Lake Lanao that has caused the power curtailment in Mindanao, now pegged at 170 megawatts (MW).

The power demand of Zamboanga City for this month is 79.821-MW and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management corporation (Psalm) and the Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) could only provide a combined power of 54-MW bringing the shortage to over 24-MW translating to at least seven to eight hours blackout in this city.

De Ocampo said they are forced to cancel some of the planned checkpoints at night time because of the unannounced blackout schedule.

“It constitutes a violation when we conduct checkpoints and inspections in dark areas,” Senior Superintendent De Ocampo said, adding the conduct of checkpoints is essential in the maintenance of peace and order.

Mayor Celso Lobregat support De Ocampo’s call to Zamcelco saying scheduled blackouts can help the local police in the performance of their duty especially at night time.

Lobregat also said that the public ample time to prepare and do important things if and when they are properly inform of the schedules of blackout. (Bong Garcia)