The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday said some power plants in Mindanao tripped due to the magnitude-7.4 earthquake in Davao Oriental, but it is still assessing any other damage to the transmission sector.
“Hopefully, the magnitude of the damage is not as big as the magnitude of the earthquake… So far, it looks like they don’t have major infrastructure on energy,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in a briefing.
She said the DOE continues to monitor the impact of the earthquake to the power and fuel supply in Mindanao.
“We have to make sure that it is safe to go in before we fix it. We will work as fast as we can so the rest of the help that comes in to Davao Oriental, or the affected areas, can come in flawlessly,” Garin said.
“Because if there’s no electricity, the rest of the services of the national government cannot function,” she said.
Preliminary assessment showed that three power generation plants in Mindanao went offline due to auto-tripping caused by the earthquake, but these have since been restored.
The restored power plants include the Malita Coal Plant Unit 2 (149.1MW), Agus 1 Hydro Electric Power Unit 1 (29.4MW), Unit 2 (29.3MW) and Pulangi 4 HEP Unit 1 (63.3MW), Unit 2 (39.2MW), and Unit 3 (63.2MW).
The DOE said National Grid Corp. of the Philippines reported that as of 11:30 a.m. Friday, there was a total load drop of 731.52MW due to the auto-tripping of the generation plants affected by the earthquake.
It said assessment of the extent of the damage is ongoing and initial reports indicate that the several lines and feeders were affected by the earthquake.
These include the Bunawan-Maco 138kV Line, which has been restored.
However, some transmission lines remain unavailable such as Davao-Toril 69kV Line, Nabunturan-Asuncion 69kV Line, and Nabunturan-Masara 138kV Line.
The affected 69kV lines serve parts of Davao City, Davao del Norte, and Davao de Oro.
Power transmission services in Northeastern, North Central, and Southwestern Mindanao remain stable.
Market intervention was initiated for the Mindanao Grid at 9:45 am Friday but was lifted at 10:14AM. Market operations resumed at 10:20AM.
The National Electrification Administration said the coverage areas of five electric cooperatives (ECs) are affected by the earthquake in Davao Oriental.
Two ECs are currently under normal operation but there are those currently experiencing partial power interruption due to NGCP transmission issues and ongoing line assessment.
ECs with partial power interruption includes Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DORECO), Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DASURECO), and Northern Davao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NORDECO).
Assessment is ongoing for other electric cooperatives in Mindanao.
Private distribution utilities were also affected.
Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc. (CEPALCO) and Cotabato Light and Power Company (CLPC) are currently undergoing assessment while 10 substations of Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) tripped.
