ILOILO City Mayor Raisa Treñas said the City Government is coordinating with power-sector stakeholders and exploring long-term solutions as persistent power interruptions and rotational brownouts continue to affect households, businesses, and workers across the city and the wider Visayas region.
“We understand the frustration of our fellow Ilonggos because of these continuing power interruptions and rotational brownouts. We know how these disruptions affect our families, businesses, workers, and our daily lives,” Treñas said.
Treñas said the Manual Load Dropping (MLD) implemented by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is beyond the direct control of the Iloilo City Government.
“Ang manual load shedding nga ginapatuman sang NGCP indi direkta nga kontrolado sang Iloilo City Government. Apang ginahimo naton ang tanan nga aton masarangan agud mahangpan sing maayo ang sitwasyon kag makabulig sa pagpangita sang mga solusyon,” she said.
(The manual load shedding implemented by NGCP is not directly controlled by the Iloilo City Government. But we are doing everything we can to better understand the situation and help find solutions.)
The mayor said city officials have been in constant communication with power-sector leaders to assess the supply constraints and identify measures to mitigate power drops.
She noted that she recently raised the issue with the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) during a meeting of the Iloilo City Business Development Council.
“Just recently, naka-istorya kita sa PEDC during the meeting of the Iloilo City Business Development Council. Nahibaluan naton nga may mga ginahimo nga tikang para madugangan pa ang power-generation capacity sa Visayas,” Treñas said.
(Just recently, we spoke to PEDC during the meeting of the Iloilo City Business Development Council. We know that steps are being taken to increase power-generation capacity in the Visayas.)
She also cited the expected arrival in Iloilo City of LNGPH, an integrated liquefied natural gas terminal and power facility.
“Also, we are expecting the entry here in Iloilo City of LNGPH, an integrated liquefied natural gas terminal and power facility,” she said.
Treñas emphasized that the power shortage is a macro-level grid issue that extends well beyond city borders.
“Importante ini kay nakita naton nga ang problema sa power supply indi lang problema sang Iloilo City. Isa ini ka mas daku nga concern nga naga-apekto sa bilog nga Visayas,” she said.
(This is important because we have seen that the problem of power supply is not just a problem of Iloilo City. This is a larger concern that affects the entire Visayas.)
While acknowledging that resolving the power deficit will take time, the mayor assured residents that local officials are proactively seeking interventions alongside power stakeholders.
“There is no instant or overnight solution to this problem. But we are not taking this sitting down. Aktibo kita nga nagapangita sang dugang nga mga solusyon kag nagatrabaho upod sa mga stakeholders sa power sector,” Treñas said.
(There is no instant or overnight solution to this problem. But we are not taking this sitting down. We are actively seeking further solutions and working with stakeholders in the power sector.)
She added that the City Government will maintain active coordination with power producers and grid operators to safeguard the economic interest and welfare of Ilonggos.
“We will continue to communicate and coordinate with them so we can better understand the situation and take concrete steps to protect the interest of the city and the welfare of every Ilonggo,” Treñas said. (Leo Solinap)