CEBU City Councilor Joel Garganera defended the proposed P3.9 million Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS), citing the need to upgrade the decade-old electrical system of City Hall’s executive building.
The ATS would provide a seamless power switch during outages and complement the plan to replace the old 300 kilovolt-ampere (kVA) generator with a more powerful 1,000 kVA unit, Garganera said in an interview on August 13, 2025.
The proposed upgrade was first questioned during the City Council's regular session on July 29, 2025. Several councilors raised concerns about its cost and necessity, leading to an executive session with the Department of General Services (DGS) and experts.
Mayor Nestor Archival, an electrical engineer, also called for a review of the project.
On Wednesday, August 13, Garganera said that during the executive session, it was pointed out that City Hall does not operate 24/7 like hotels or hospitals, which require an ATS to protect their equipment against damages caused by sudden fluctuation in power supply.
"Usa sa (gikwestyon) kay ang P3.9 million (cost). It was pointed out nga kamahal ana (it's expensive). It's like a mere breaker," Garganera said. "So, it turned out diay nga that the City Government, for the last 20 years, kaning (executive) building, kay 20 years na ang atung linya and to think nga daghan na kaayo ta og aircon, computers, mga equipment and if we don't have that kay mangadaut ang atung mga equipment and computer kay dili seamless."
Garganera said the upgrade is necessary as the DGS plans to replace the executive building’s current 300 kVA backup generator with a new 1,000 kVA unit donated by the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway Corporation. The new generator requires an ATS to function properly.
Garganera admitted that the DGS apologized for not providing a detailed breakdown of the project cost.
During the executive session, it was revealed that the ATS machine itself costs around P1 million, with the remaining P2.97 million allocated for new cables and labor.
To justify the cost, the councilor has requested the DGS to conduct a power and load audit of the building. The results, expected next week, will determine the structure's actual power needs.
According to Garganera, experts from mechanical and electrical engineers' associations, who attended the executive session, have agreed that an ATS is necessary with the installation of the 1,000 kVA generator.
"Basically, ang diperensya ra sa presyo nga magbutang ka og breaker ug kanang automatic transfer switch kay P200,000," said Garganera. "Unlike sa ATS kay seamless na ug dili na manual."
The ATS ensures a continuous power supply and protects equipment from surges and outages. (EHP)