I slept in the road last night

[Terpe]

Last night saw record high temperatures in many parts of Mindanao.

So much so that the demand for electricity outstripped the supply capability.

Result: Mindano blackout. This lasted pretty much all the night for a 7 hour stint of horrible hot, humid night.

So, no choice but to join everyone else and make a party outside in the road. There was food, music and dancing.
I managed to quaff the last 2 ice cold SM's and then just slept there on the mat in the road.
Plenty of firsts for me last night. Despite being an uncomfortable night with no power at all and very little water for a cooling shower we all had a wonderful nice 'community' time together and I must say it was highly enjoyable.

The power came back on around 8am and promptly went off again around 8:30 am
Just as we were getting ready for a day at the mall to cool down it came back on.
The water returned to full pressure about 3 hours later.

It's more fun in the Philippines for impromptu parties

[stevewool]

Lucky you are retired, fancy getting up for work after that all night party, make sure you have more SM in for the next time

[Ako Si Jamie]

Close proximity to a swimming pool or the sea is advantageous in those kind of situations.

[cheekee]

Another brown out in my wife's Baranguay. A daily occurrence the last few days. Its been so hot they turned the power off to reduce the risk of fire.

[Terpe]

Close proximity to a swimming pool or the sea is advantageous in those kind of situations.

We have a pool 5 mins walk. It was closed.

We're also just a few minutes from the ocean.
I didn't fancy walking around in those very early morning hours in total darkness.

[Ako Si Jamie]

We have a pool 5 mins walk. It was closed.

We're also just a few minutes from the ocean.
I didn't fancy walking around in those very early morning hours in total darkness.

Yup. Wise move. Doesn't take much to have a nasty fall by tripping especially after a few shickers.

[Ann1984]

Dear me! Was woken up and the neighbors as well.. could not sleep back because humid and very hot. That is horrible electric fluctuate.
I hope no more tonight. I will be sleeping on the tiles floor for good.

[grahamw48]

Glad I wasn't the only one.

.

[London_Manila]

Once in a blue moon is ok but if the brownouts became regular i would seriously think about moving to another area where brownouts are not so common

I am a delicate darling and i need aircon to sleep

[fred]

Peter..For about 30 k you can have a 250 watt solar power system..enough for a TV,fan and LED lights.
CDR king have the cheapest panels..100 watt for 4,800.
After the earth quake we went to visit an English guy in Loon.. He couldn't live in his house for 3 weeks and and spent that time with his family in the back field in a tent..
He struggled at first but said getting to know his town neighbours in such a way was the best thing he ever did..Everyone helped each other.. A bit like the blitz I suppose.
We were without power for 3 weeks on the island and to be honest,I didnt mind as much as I thought I would.. Important things to have are lots of flash lights.. Luckily we have games like Monopoly and pictionary that were used every night..Just like the good ole days!
Kids I phones were USELESS but they got over it!!

[Terpe]

I'm sure you're right Fred to compare with the community spirit during London Blitz.

I learnt a lot during those few hours.

We already have a generator, just waiting on my bro-in-law to deliver

Right now we have a house full of kids ranging in age from 3 to 12. All girls.
Another one (girl) arriving later today.
Apparently it's quite normal for kids to spend the school holidays with one family.

I've discovered that school holidays last until June, I think.
Costing me a fortune in ice cream

[Terpe]

Peter..For about 30 k you can have a 250 watt solar power system..enough for a TV,fan and LED lights.
CDR king have the cheapest panels..100 watt for 4,800.

Thankyou Fred, that sounds interesting.
I like browsing around in CD-R King.

I'll make a point of asking about that next chance I get.
It'll be nice to get out of the house on my own for a while

[Arthur Little]

I'm sure you're right Fred to compare with the community spirit during London Blitz.

Yes ... from what I've read, such hardship brought out the BEST in human nature.

[fred]

Yes ... from what I've read, such hardship brought out the BEST in human nature.

It took 2 years to plan my Mothers visit. 2 years!! The Mrs was worried about her being comfortable and we had the A/C reconditioned etc and had her room looking like something you might find at the Ritz.... we got everthing done and the day arrived to pick them up at the airport.. 2 days after Yolanda. No power.
No power for another month.
Did she whine? No
Did she complain? No
Did she want to go home 4 months later?
No!!
She wants us to build her a house. I think I`ll be seeing a lot more of my Mum!
First thing she said when we picked her up at the airport and told her about the power cut was..."Been through worse in the war..Stop fussing!
We needn`t have worried.

[Terpe]

Officials find lead in Mindanao Easter blackout

Energy officials have yet to identify the cause of a massive blackout in Mindanao on the early hours of Easter Sunday (April 5).

It took up to seven hours to completely restore power in the Mindanao grid, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla told CNN Philippines in a phone interview. However, he noted that some areas near power plants had their electricity restored right away.

Petilla added that authorities are still investigating which power plant tripped. Likewise, he said that they know at least where to start looking.

"There is always a starting point," Petilla said. "And the starting point indicates, based on the log, to Agus VI and Agus VII area. That would be the starting point of the investigation because that's where the tripping started."

Electrical tripping can happen for a number of reasons, such as an overload, a short circuit, or a ground fault.

The plants form a major portion of Mindanao's Agus Power Plant Complex. According to the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR), this consists of six cascading hydroelectric power plants that fall along the Agus River and snake from the mouth of Lake Lanao in Marawi City, down to the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City.

NAPOCOR said that the Agus VI power plant is the oldest among the lot, a project of President Elpidio Quirino back in the early 1950s.

It was originally known as the Maria Cristina Falls Hydroelectric Plant because of its location right next to the tourist attraction. The corporation said that the plant's first two generators are due for complete rehabilitation and up-rating.

On the other hand, the Agus VII plant was constructed in 1979 during the Marcos administration. NAPOCOR said that it is the last of the downstream cascading hydroelectric plants. It is located near the mouth of the Agus River at Feuentes, Maria Cristina, Iligan City.

The corporation said that both the Agus VI and Agus VII power plants have nature parks inside their complexes that are open to tourists.



Source

[Terpe]

Philippines' Aboitiz Power sees delay in 300-MW Mindanao project

Aboitiz Power Corp, one of the Philippines' biggest electricity producers, said on Wednesday that a recent blackout in the southern island of Mindanao will delay the start of its 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant project.

Aboitiz said in a statement that the seven-hour Mindanao-wide blackout on April 5 disrupted the commissioning of the second 150-MW unit of the power plant, with commercial operations delayed by 10 months to February 2016.

Commissioning of the plant's first 150-MW unit remains on schedule and should reach commercial operation by the end of June this year, it said.

The plant, to be operated by Aboitiz's Therma South Inc unit, is designed to boost electricity supply to an island that has been suffering for years from rolling brownouts due to inadequate power reserves.

Many of the country's biggest power producers, including San Miguel Corp, Ayala Corp and Manila Electric Co , are planning new capacity in Mindanao, home to the country's biggest nickel mines, some tourist spots, and banana and pineapple plantations supplying Dole Food Co Inc and Del Monte Pacific Ltd.

But most of the projects have yet to be built, raising fears that a potential power crisis could undermine Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy.

"Initial findings show that the (power) disruption unfortunately caused damage to the auxiliary components to the boiler of Unit 2," Aboitiz said.

The cost of repairs was unclear as Therma South was conducting a more detailed assessment of the extent of the work needed.

The Mindanao Business Council has sought an explanation from the government for the blackout, which the Department of Energy said was caused by the breakdown of an ageing transformer.

Source

[Terpe]

Looks like I'll be sleeping in the road again

On top of that Mindanao is suffering a severe drought. Many rivers looking pretty low.
Impacts likely on the hydroelectric plants

[jake]

[B]
Aboitiz said in a statement that the seven-hour Mindanao-wide blackout on April 5 disrupted the commissioning of the second 150-MW unit of the power plant, with commercial operations delayed by 10 months to February 2016.

Brilliant! Only in the Philippines

[jake]

Looks like I'll be sleeping in the road again

On top of that Mindanao is suffering a severe drought. Many rivers looking pretty low.
Impacts likely on the hydroelectric plants

As a manufacturer the frequent brownouts you experience in Mindanao would drive me nuts. It must play havoc with local productivity.
After the typhoon last year we used a generator for a couple of weeks and it wasnt cheap.

Hope you managed to chill the beers in time

[Terpe]

The

As a manufacturer the frequent brownouts you experience in Mindanao would drive me nuts. It must play havoc with local productivity.
After the typhoon last year we used a generator for a couple of weeks and it wasnt cheap.

Hope you managed to chill the beers in time

To be honest Jake that was our first serious blackout since we arrived.
Where we live, we've only had a couple of power outages since last November with longest being about 2 hours.
We're very lucky.

Fred has given me some info on a solar powered generator. I've seen them and they start at about P20k for a 300W version.
I'm still researching all the pros and cons.
My wife says I've become kuripot since living here and she may have a point. If I can save P10 I will.
Crazy really

[grahamw48]

A generator sufficent to drive a fan would be fine for me.