The Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) said late Thursday evening that it is overseeing the assessment and restoration of energy services after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the Visayas. Said the DOE in a statement released to media:
At around 4:00 PM today (06 July 2017), a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in Jaro, Leyte causing power interruptions in Leyte, Samar, and Bohol Islands. Panay, Negros, Cebu and the other areas in the Visayas.
Vice President Lito Santos of Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) reported to Energy Sec. Cusi that all employees in the area are accounted for, with some of the personnel suffering from minor injuries. EDC owns and operates the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plants (ULGPP). Santos further submitted that all of ULGPP’s units which generates over 500 MW tripped. Santos assures the energy Secretary that the assessments are still ongoing and will prioritize the Tongonan Unit.
Green Core Geothermal Inc. reported that it’s Palinpinon geothermal power plant unit 1 which generates around 37 MW tripped. It was offline at around 4:00pm due to the activation of the Cebu-Negros System Integrity Protection Scheme. However, the plant was immediately back online and delivering its generated electricity at 5:00pm of the same day.
