MORE Power is set to commence phase 2 of its extensive cleaning operation on its 69kV lines, prompted by the prolonged absence of rain in Iloilo City since January 2024.
Engr. Bernard Bailey Del Castillo, Vice President of the Network Development and Operations Group, highlighted that the emergency power interruption on March 27, 2024, marked only the initial phase of their efforts, following two consecutive unscheduled power interruptions affecting 69KV line 2, which links four substations: Molo, Mobile, Megaworld, and Diversion.
Del Castillo pointed out that these issues are new. Because of El Niño and very light rain, dirt and salt have built upon insulators and facilities, causing sparks and power outages.
"Dirty insulators on our power lines are a big problem because when it lightly rains, it can cause sparks and outages. We need heavy rain to wash away the dirt,” Del Castillo explained.
Early on April 12, there was another unscheduled power interruption due to sparks on the insulator of their 69KV line 5 at La Granja junction, which affected almost the entire franchise area except for Lapaz Substation. Even though they had planned to fix this line in phase 2 this month, the incident occurred before they could start.
"We cannot interrupt all 69kV lines simultaneously due to the expansive working area; therefore, we need to conduct the process in several phases. In fact, in our phase 1, aside from the washing of facilities, we also replaced more than 100 pieces of post insulators, and another 150 pieces for Phase 2," added Del Castillo.
Consumers can anticipate a franchise-wide scheduled power interruption within April to prevent similar incidents, especially with the expectation of light rains in the upcoming weeks. Specific details regarding the scheduled power interruption will be posted on MORE Power’s Facebook Page.