THE PHILIPPINE government has restored electricity across Siquijor province following days of rotating blackouts, meeting a deadline set by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., for resolving the island’s power crisis.
In a statement on Sunday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the National Electrification Administration (NEA) stabilized the electricity supply in the province by June 14, one day ahead of the June 15 deadline imposed by Mr. Marcos.
The outages, which began earlier this month, were linked to capacity shortfalls and technical problems involving the island’s independent power provider, Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR).
In response, NEA worked with the local utility, Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative, to repair existing generators and import additional units.
A generator from the Palawan Electric Cooperative was also shipped and installed on the island, while SIPCOR deployed rental generator sets to meet demand. The combined capacity now reaches 11 megawatts (MW), surpassing the island’s peak demand of 9 MW, with a buffer to prevent future interruptions.
The President last week guaranteed there would be a long-term solution to the power shortage in the island province in six months. — Chloe Mari A. Hear
