MORE Power deploys mobile substation to Bacolod City

By Dolly Yasa and Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY—MORE Power is sending its 10 MegaVolt Ampere (MVA) mobile substation from Iloilo City to Bacolod City to support the load needs of the damaged Alijis substation.

MORE Power is a sister company of Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power), which recently took over the operations of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) after its franchise was approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,

While Negros Power is still awaiting the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to officially take control of Ceneco, it has begun helping the latter.

Negros Power announced it will take up to two weeks to replace the 13-year-old power transformer at the Alijis substation, which caused a massive power interruption in various areas on Wednesday night.

Thousands of households were affected, with many expressing their frustration on social media.

In an advisory, Negros Power reported the unscheduled power interruption around 8 p.m., which affected seven feeders connected to the Alijis substation.

The power outage was caused by the shutdown of the Alijis substation due to a failed 30/37 MVA power transformer, with overloading and aging equipment cited as contributing factors.

Negros Power Chief Operations Officer Bailey Del Castillo reported that gas leaks triggered the shutdown of the Alijis substation.

To provide an immediate remedy, the power company decided to connect the feeder lines of the Alijis substation to nearby substations, sourcing at least 32 megawatts of power.

Negros Power is closely monitoring these feeders to prevent overloading and to implement manual load dropping if necessary to avoid extended brownouts.

It apologized for the inconvenience and assured the public that efforts are underway to stabilize the power supply.

Negros Power, a joint venture between Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) and Ceneco, was established to improve power distribution and customer service for more than 200,000 consumers.

President Marcos Jr. granted Negros Power a 25-year franchise after signing Republic Act No. 12011 on July 26, 2024, authorizing the company to establish, operate, and maintain an electric distribution system in Central Negros to ensure continuous and uninterrupted power supply.

The Alijis substation, along with other substations and facilities under Ceneco, is slated for rehabilitation and modernization once Negros Power begins full operations next month.

Negros Power spokesperson Jonathan Cabrera said on Friday that the mobile substation is expected to arrive on Saturday and will be assembled at the Alijis substation immediately. It is anticipated to begin supplying power to the Alijis feeders by Tuesday, he added.

Meanwhile, Negros Power is installing a new 18 MVA power transformer to replace the failed transformer at the Alijis substation, with completion expected within one to two weeks.

Cabrera noted that they are currently requesting supply from neighboring substations by linking their feeders.

Cabrera also mentioned that Negros Power has installed a new, higher-capacity cable extending six kilometers to connect Murcia Feeder 1 and Alijis Feeder 3, both of which have high load demands. This cable is expected to be connected and powered by tonight, he added.

Before the transition from Ceneco to NEPC began in August, Negros Power had already prepared a rehabilitation and modernization plan worth no less than P2 billion.

The plan is set to be implemented in the coming months, once NEPC fully takes over as the new electric distribution utility, Cabrera said.

Earlier, after 13 years of service and repeated overloading incidents, the 30/37 MVA power transformer at the Alijis substation suffered a critical failure around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, causing a widespread power outage across all seven connected feeders.

Del Castillo reported that the transformer experienced a significant oil leak, rendering it irreparable.

In a press briefing on Thursday night, Del Castillo stated that while the outage initially affected 47,000 customers, this number has been reduced to about 6,000 after several areas were re-energized.

He assured the public that efforts are underway to address the situation, with power expected to stabilize within 24 hours.

Negros Power has decided to replace the damaged transformer with a new unit.

Del Castillo mentioned that, fortunately, a spare transformer was available, but necessary installation processes will take approximately two weeks before the new transformer is fully integrated into the system.

“It is unfortunate that it exploded before our planned rehabilitation next month,” said Cabrera. “Nevertheless, the permanent solution is the implementation of Negros Power’s five-year rehabilitation and modernization plan to prevent similar crises in the future,” he added.