TACLOBAN CITY — The power outage that affected this city and the neighboring towns of Palo and Babatngon, all in Leyte, on New Year’s Eve resulted in an estimated income loss of P2 million for the Leyte II Electric Cooperative (Leyeco II).
This was disclosed by Engr. Fernan Paul Tan, Leyeco II’s general manager, during a media conference held on Thursday, Jan. 10.
“The power interruption on New Year’s Eve caused an income loss of between P1 million to P2 million for Leyeco II,” he said.
The blackout occurred at around 10:45 p.m. on December 31, 2024, and lasted for 10 hours, with power being fully restored at 7:45 a.m. on January 1, 2025.
The prolonged outage drew widespread criticism from the cooperative’s more than 91,000 consumers, who were forced to welcome the New Year in complete darkness.
Tan clarified, however, that Leyeco II was not at fault for the incident. He explained that the cause of the major power outage was a cut conductor in a transmission line owned by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Engr. Ricardo Lozano, NGCP’s district manager for Visayas operations and maintenance, confirmed that the blackout was caused by a cut conductor—a cable used to carry electricity—located in a mountainous area in Barangay Diit, Tacloban City.
“The affected conductor was already more than 30 years old, which is why it got detached from the main line,” Lozano said during the same press conference. “Considering its location in a mountainous area, it took us longer to complete the repairs.”
According to Lozano, the NGCP team discovered the damaged pole at around 12:47 a.m. on January 1 and immediately began repair work.
By 7:45 a.m., NGCP informed Leyeco II that the line was ready for energization.
“We sincerely apologize for what happened. The incident occurred at night and in a difficult location. We ask for your understanding. However, we have taken corrective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Lozano said.
One of the corrective measures includes conducting regular and more frequent inspections of transmission lines. Lozano also revealed that NGCP is conducting a comprehensive assessment of its power poles.
“Since this incident, we assume that there may still be hidden defects in some of our poles. That’s why our inspection teams are actively conducting assessments and making the necessary repairs,” Lozano added.
He explained that during these inspections, it may be necessary to temporarily shut down power supply.
“But we will do it in a way that minimizes the impact on the general public, consumers, and the local economy,” Lozano assured.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
