A 10-hour brownout hit Mandurriao district in Iloilo City on Saturday night, June 19, after a primary line along Q. Abeto Street went down that resulted to the tripping off of the circuit breaker of Mandurriao Feeder 4.
The power failure happened ahead of another 13-hour scheduled interruption in the district on June 28, 2020.
Mandurriao Feeder 4 energizes 16 barangays in Mandurriao district, 2 barangays in Jaro, 1 barangay in Arevalo, 24 subdivisions, Western Visayas Medical Center, AMOSUP Hospital and the primary business area of the district.
MORE Power was able to immediately restore power but miserably failed to trace the fault as the restoration lasted only for 9 seconds that left thousands of consumers without electricity.
According to their Facebook (FB) page, they resorted to section restoration however they were not able to identify the fault source as it left the district powerless overnight.
One netizen angrily posted “… More tudlo naman sa PECO ang inyo kalawlaw ah…” while another one commented “… Paguapo naman sila sa media buas. Pila bayad niyo sa ______________…”
Despite the severe inconvenience among consumers around Mandurriao, some helpless people found time to lighten the situation by sending a message to the FB page of Panay Electric Company (PECO) asking the besieged power distributor to help MORE Power.
MORE Power and PECO is locked in a legal battle after the former which is owned by gambling magnate Enrique Razon Jr. grabbed the operations and properties of the latter with the help of Congress and a local court.
Several congressmen are now seeking to investigate the incapacity of MORE Power as the number and duration of its power interruptions in less than three months of operation has surpassed the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) reported and approved whole year interruption submitted by PECO last year.
Suspiciously, Representative Jamjam Baroda has been very quite on the proposed investigation at the House. She is a known political operator of Razon.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry Trenas has only high praises for MORE Power saying that it is doing its best to improve the power distribution around the city despite the massive blackouts being experienced every day. IMT