PAGADIAN CITY,
January 31 - - The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)
reiterates its commitment to the public that the country’s power grid will remain
stable and reliable during the upcoming crucial political event.
Atty. Cynthia P.
Alabanza, NGCP Spokesperson said a special task force has been organized which
will be responsible for the smooth transmission of electricity and creation of
contingency plans and measures during the election. It will commence operation
as early as February 2013 and will work 24/7 from May 10 to 17, 2013, covering
the election date which is May 13.
“NGCP creates a
task force every election season to guarantee uninterrupted power transmission,
and this election will be no different. Part of the task force’s mandate is to
secure the lines and substations from any threats to avoid unplanned outages,”
explained Alabanza. “Of course, NGCP can only guarantee that there will be no
transmission related interruptions. Any power interruption caused by other
factors, such as generation deficiencies, or those pertaining to distribution
utility operations, are beyond our control,” she stressed.
NGCP will defer its
regular maintenance activities 1 week before and 1 week after the election to
make all the transmission assets available for power delivery. Alabanza
assured, “We will make sure that power delivery is excellent and transmission
lines and equipment are at their best to ensure that we have electricity for
the voting machines.”
The Department of
Energy (DOE) created a Power Task Force earlier this month intended to secure
the country’s power supply for the mid-term elections. Together with other
energy agencies, NGCP is also a member of the said task force.
“NGCP’s task force
is aligned with the Power Task Force created by DOE. We shall be in constant
coordination with them and with other agencies in the power industry, to ensure
that we have a power interruption-free election this year,” said Alabanza. (ALT/NGCP/PIA9)