A lightning strike has caused the simultaneous tripping of the Colon-Cebu 138kV Lines 1, 2 and 3 and Colon-Quiot 138kV Line, which triggered a total blackout in some parts of the Visayas.
This was the initial findings of the National Grid Corporations of the Philippines when Cebu, Leyte-Samar and Bohol experience the power blackout at 11:56PM, August 20, 2021.
NGCP said that a gradual restoration of power transmission services to affected power customers of NGCP started in Cebu at 12:52 AM, while the last feeder energized in Leyte-Samar was at 5:46 AM, and in Bohol, at 5:48 AM.
NGCP-Visayas spokesperson Betty Martinez said they have a lighting arrester but sometimes lighting can slipped through their transmission lines.
Also, power has been restored in the Visayan Electric franchise area.
VECO’s franchise area includes the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and four municipalities of Metro Cebu namely Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla and San Fernando.
The KEPCO SPC Power Corporation also belied a Facebook post that their power plant is on fire and cause the blackout.
The Cebu-based power plant is urging the public
to refrain from spreading misinformation.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, the chairman on the committee on power said that so far hospitals in the city including the Cebu City Medical Center has a backup generator that cause a slight inconvenience but we’re able to restore the power within minutes.