NGCP: Tower bombing results in power outage in parts of Mindanao

NATIONAL Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Tuesday said that areas of northwest Mindanao experienced power interruptions as a transmission line was downed following a bombing incident.

In a statement, the NGCP said its Baloi-Aurora 138 kilovolt (kV) transmission line tripped at 4:50 p.m. on October 24.

Areas affected by the MLD are the entire Zamboanga Peninsula, namely Zamboanga del Norte (including Dipolog City and Dapitan City), Zamboanga del Sur (including Pagadian City and Zamboanga City), Zamboanga Sibugay, entire Misamis Occidental, and parts of Lanao del Norte.

The tripping was due to the bombing of Tower No. 8 of the said line located in Sitio San Isidro, Brgy. Bagombayan, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.

The bombing resulted in the toppling of the said tower. A still unidentified individual was found at the scene with fatal injuries. It is unclear if this is related to the bombing. Responding authorities confirmed that lawless elements used IEDs to bomb the said tower.

The incident is under investigation.
Repair of Tower No. 8 will commence as soon as the area is secured. NGCP is currently coordinating with local law enforcement to secure the area as repairs are to be done by NGCP personnel.

The company stresses that bombings only serve to increase 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.

Suspicious activities or ROW violations may be reported to NGCP through its TIP Hotline 0917-TIPNGCP (8476427) or 0918-TIPNGCP (8476427), or email to tipngcp@ngcp.ph.