Massive power failure hits Manila, Luzon Island

Asian Economic News, Oct 23, 2000

MANILA, Oct. 20 Kyodo

A massive power failure early Friday cut electricity in Manila and some parts of the Philippines' main island of Luzon, the government said.

Power was cut in the capital, central Luzon and the Bicol region, due to the tripping of a high-voltage line from a power plant in Sual, Pangasinan Province, causing the entire Luzon grid to break down, Energy Secretary Mario Tiaoqui said.

The power outage caused a traffic jam in some parts of Manila. It also fueled speculations that a coup was in the offing.

But government officials dismissed the speculations, saying politics had nothing to do with it.

''There is no sabotage,'' said one official in a radio interview.

National Power Corp. (NAPOCOR), the government agency in charge of power supply, immediately went to work to repair the damage. The company ''is putting everything back in operation,'' Tiaoqui said.

The power company managed to restore power to a substantial portion of Manila an hour after the lights went out, he said.

Luzon plunged into darkness in December when the Sual plant, which has two 500-megawatt generators, broke down after an estimated 50 tons of jellyfish swam into its cooling system.