Bacolod City – Councilor Claudio Puentevella call for a committee hearing to ask Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC) to explain the recent widespread power outage affecting Bacolod service area, particularly the Alijis substation.
“For the past 48 hours, many of us have been unnecessarily inconvenienced by the widespread power outage that hit most parts of Bacolod. Many of our parents have to endure hours taking turns fanning their children especially at night, while those who are not well have to contend with the hot and humid environment. Businesses have been disrupted and those who rely on reliable power and internet for their work are dismayed over lost opportunities,” he said.
Puentevella said this is very concerning, especially since we just recently transitioned to a new power company who committed to provide Bacolodnons better services and lesser power interruptions and invest billions of pesos to improve our power infrastructures.
As early as July 24, the City Council already requested NEPC management through the Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, which I chair, to furnish the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Bacolod their action plans to address the frequent causes of power interruption, whether scheduled or unscheduled, and also to provide a written report on what are the necessary and precautionary actions taken to mitigate or the rectify the same. To date, we did not receive even a courtesy of a reply, he said.
What transpired over-the-weekend precisely what we were trying to avoid, the reason why we sent NEPC that resolution, he added.
It is unfortunate that it took this possibly avoidable incident to remind NEPC of its responsibility and accountability for what happened, Puentevella added.
“Bacolodnons deserve better than this and we expect their explanation and plans to rectify these in a committee hearing that I am planning to call very soon,” he said. (Chrysee Semillano via The Visayan Daily Star)