The 138 kilovolt (kV) Baloi-Aurora Transmission line tripped on Monday afternoon which resulted in power interruptions in Mindanao following a bombing incident in the area, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said.
In a statement released on Tuesday, NGCP implemented Manual Load Dropping (MLD) in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula after the bombing of Tower No. 8 of the transmission line in Sitio San Isidro, Barangay Bagombayan in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.
Affected areas include Zamboanga del Norte, including Dipolog City and Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Sur, including Pagadian and Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay, the entire Misamis Occidental, and parts of Lanao del Norte.
“NGCP is currently coordinating with the AFP and local law enforcement to secure the area as repair works are being conducted by NGCP personnel,” NGCP said.
NGCP said that the bombing incidents only increased the burden of the public, “which must suffer through power interruptions when towers are bombed.”
“NGCP reiterates that the conduct of suspicious activities within or along the power transmission corridor which may disrupt the transmission of power is punishable by law, with a penalty of as much as P200,000 or 12 years imprisonment, or both,” NGCP said.
The grid operator said that the incident is currently under investigation.