The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s lone grid operator, should be held accountable for the massive power outage in Western Visayas, according to Iloilo City Jerry Treñas.

The city and other parts of the region have been plunged into darkness since Tuesday, Jan. 2, due to the tripping of major plants in Panay Island.

“I call on ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) and DOE (Department of Energy) to make NGCP accountable for their incompetence,” Treñas.

“This situation is terrible for Panay and Guimaras to suffer. NGCP needs to shape up,” he added.

The mayor urged the House of Representatives and the Senate to investigate the massive power outage.

“NGCP holds a franchise from Congress and therefore is accountable to it,” he said.

Treñas also appealed to DOE, ERC and President Bongbong Marcos to “use all the powers in their mandate to ensure that the transmission lines of NGCP should be improved.”

“The improvement of these transmission lines have already been delayed several times. Now we are suffering because of these delays,” he lamented.

NGGP blamed the outage on the unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of the largest power plants in Panay.

“With the tripping of three of the largest power generating units and the planned maintenance shutdown of of a 150-megawatt power generating unit, 451 MW or 68.75 percent of the total 656 MW in-island generation was lost to the Panay sub-grid,” it said.

“Maintenance shutdowns and deration of plants outside DOE’s approved Grid Operating and Maintenance Program also contributed to the lack of power supply,” NGCP added.

The grid operator reiterated its call for a “[better] planning to ensure sufficient generation per island, with a well-balanced mix of fuels and technology.”

In statement, DOE reminded NGCP to adhere to its responsibilities as system operator in ensuring supply security and reliability of the grid.

NGCP, according to DOE, “could have exercised, in a better manner, its responsibility in balancing the grid.”

“NGCP is in a position to anticipate system disturbance such as what happened on [Jan. 2)], which unfortunately resulted in the isolation of Panay from the rest of the Visayas grid due to the simultaneous tripping of power plants that caused multiple power interruption affecting other power plants and distribution utilities,” DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said.IMT