(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Monday, 22 December 2025) Shear Line affecting the eastern sections of Northern and Central Luzon. Northeast Monsoon affecting the rest of Northern Luzon. Easterlies affecting the rest of the country. Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte will be cloudy with scattered rains and thunderstorms due to Easterlies. Possible landslides or flashfloods due to moderate to at times heavy rains. Rest of Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms caused by Easterlies. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. Light to moderate winds from the east to northeast with slight to moderate seas (0.6 to 2.5 meters).


Monday, 12 August 2024

Power outage hit Surigao Sur

By Nida Grace P. Barcena

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur (PIA) – The province of Surigao del Sur experienced an unexpected power outage for seven hours at around 1:35 PM on August 11.

 

According to Surigao del Sur Electric Cooperative (SURSECO) II, “The incident caused blackout in the municipalities of Lianga, San Agustin, Marihatag, Cagwait, Bayabas, San Miguel, Tago, Cortes, and the city of Tandag.

 

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Information Officer Kristoffer Abellanosa disclosed, “The fault which caused the blackout was due to the outage at the San Francisco-Tandag 69 Kv line, 74 km from the NGCP-San Francisco substation in Agusan del Sur.  The fault area lies near Tagbalidbid, Cagwait, Surigao del Sur.”

 

“The report further indicated that the power failure was caused by a Mangium tree falling across the transmission line, resulting in a break,” Abellanosa said.

 

SURSECO II management also clarified that the cut down of the Mangium tree was without proper coordination that resulted in the said power outage.

 

Restoration

 

The NGCP immediately started working towards restoring the power supply. Lianga and some parts of San Agustin had their lights back at around 3:32 PM on August 11. However, technical problems slowed down the rejuvenation of other affected areas including Tandag City, Cortes, Tago, San Miguel, Bayabas, Cagwait, Marihatag, and some areas in San Agustin.

 

At 4:41 PM, an attempt was made to temporarily energize Tandag City, Cortes, and certain sections of Tago using island mode operation through KEGI Surigao del Sur Power Plant situated at Telaje-Tandag City. Regrettably, the efforts failed due to technical glitches.

 

“At around 7:33 PM on the same day, NGCP successfully restored the transmission line, normalizing the power supply to all affected areas,”Abellanosa added.

 

Meanwhile, NGCP emphasized that SURSECO II is not authorized to intervene in the restoration of NGCP's transmission lines unless explicitly requested or authorized in specific instances. (NGPB, PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Posted by at