Transmission lines maintain integrity despite ‘Carina’ onslaught

MANILA – Despite the severe weather conditions brought by Super Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) assured the public on Thursday that it was able to maintain the integrity of its facilities.

“As of noon, NGCP’s transmission lines and facilities are under normal operations,” the NGCP said in an advisory.

Transmission lines and towers are critical power infrastructure as these transport electricity from generation facilities to substations before it is distributed to houses and establishments.

READ: DOE: Transmission lines up by 10% in Marcos admin

Carina, which intensified early this week, brought heavy rainfall and strong winds severely affecting Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon. The southwest monsoon, or habagat, exacerbated the situation with continuous rains leading to flooding in the National Capital Region (NCR) and several other areas.

At the 2024 Post-SONA (State of the Nation Address) Discussions in Pasay City Wednesday, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Raphael Lotilla urged all stakeholders to ensure shared responsibility in taking care of transmission infrastructures.

“I’d like to stress the importance of everyone being responsible for our energy supply,” Lotilla said.

“We need to take collective care of our infrastructure. So the towers of the transmission and distribution lines, we all have to take care of them. Because the fact is that we have to contend not only with terrorist activities, but also simple thefts. So they are stealing away wires and even parts of towers. And when the typhoon comes, they are so severely weakened that we end up again having to rebuild them,” the DOE chief said.