SIQUIJOR, Siquijor (PIA) --The Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (PROSIELCO) is activating measures to address the spate of power outages that in the most recent incident was caused by a snake. 

According to PROSIELCO, a snake managed to reach the power line and triggered a short circuit that burned the Feeder 2 Recloser Control of the Candanay Power Plant on January 6. The incident led to a series of trip offs at the power plant. 

In a statement, the electric cooperative said three reclosers have been installed at the Candanay Power Plant, two in Tignao Power Plant in Lazi, one in Poblacion, Larena, and one in Pasihagon, Siquijor, Siquijor as the strategic areas of the distribution line system.

“Ang recloser makatabang aron dili mo-plant trip kon adunay sagabal ang linya (line fault) aron ang maapektuhan kadto lamang nakakonektar sa linya nga adunay sagabal (The recloser prevents plant trip if there is an obstruction in the line fault, so that only those connected to the defective line are affected),” said PROSIELCO in a statement posted on their official Facebook page. 

PROSIELCO engineers and linemen also conducted an assessment to determine and install the correct size of the fuse cut-outs in the distribution system.

This is to effectively separate or isolate line faults from the remaining “healthy” part of the system.

The electric cooperative has also installed wildlife protection in the form of conductor holders in areas identified to have frequent animal contacts that often cause power outages, such as bats, birds, snakes, rats, etc. 

Massive line clearing activities are also being regularly conducted to prevent line faults due to vegetation problems, the PROSIELCO said. 

Appeal for patience

PROSIELCO’s management and board of directors released a statement on January 17 appealing to its consumers for patience and understanding amid the power outages. 

“Manghinaut kami nga human niining pagpasabot, malinawan ang atong mga hunahuna kabahin niining atong nasinating mga pagpalong o brownouts . (We hope that these explanations will enlighten your minds on the brownouts that we experience),” PROSIELCO said in their statement. 

They emphasized that even though their goal as an electric cooperative is to offer all consumers consistent, dependable, and efficient services, the recent power disruptions were unpredicted and beyond their control. 

PROSIELCO’s statement was issued after they met with the provincial government who asked for an explanation over the series of power outages. 

‘Shape up’

Gov. Jake Vincent Villa urged the electric cooperative to “shape up” and be transparent in giving information to the public. 

“Akong giingnan ang PROSIELCO officials nga they must shape up, otherwise, mapugos mi ug himo ug mga lakang administratiba batok kanila. (I told the PROSIELCO officials that they must shape up. Otherwise, we will be forced to take administrative steps against them),” said Villa. 

Villa explained that the provincial government is not directly involved in the operations of PROSIELCO, as it is a cooperative that operates under the supervision and authority of the National Electrification Administration. 

“As governor, I am constantly looking for ways to push PROSIELCO to improve, while at the same time also looking for viable alternatives to meet the power demand of our ever-growing island economy,” said Villa.

Generation and distribution 

The two players in Siquijor island’s electrification industry are Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR) for the generation side and PROSIELCO, which is in charge of the distribution side. 

SIPCOR operates the two power plants in Candanay Sur, Siquijor and Tignao, Lazi. 

PROSIELCO is dependent on the power generated by SIPCOR. 

“PROSIELCO is only buying power from SIPCOR, hence when SIPCOR has no supply, PROSIELCO has nothing to distribute. When the PROSIELCO distribution line is in trouble, the generated power supply of SIPCOR still cannot reach our consumers,” explained PROSIELCO.

Types of brownouts

PROSIELCO explained that there are two types of power outages - scheduled and unscheduled. 

Scheduled outages occur when the cooperative will conduct troubleshooting or maintenance of the distribution lines. 

Unscheduled outages happen anytime whenever something goes wrong beyond the electric cooperative’s knowledge and control. 

This is often caused by either power plant trip-offs or line faults due to animal contact, vegetation or line distribution equipment breakdown.

“Please know that our linemen and engineers are always doing their best to trace the line faults causing outages 24/7,” PROSIELCO said. 

SIPCOR also has its scheduled outages for Preventive Maintenance Shutdown of the generating units, which they inform PROSIELCO ahead of time.

Unscheduled outages on the part of SIPCOR are caused by the unexpected breakage or bogging down of a generator or its parts that leads to sudden plant trippings. (RAC/PIA7 Siquijor)