Valencia city: The Department of Energy (DOE) has stepped in to address the power situation in Valencia City, Bukidnon, following the passage of a resolution by the city council over consumer complaints of frequent and prolonged power interruptions.
According to Philippines News Agency, the move came after a nearly 27-hour power outage that began at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19, affected thousands of households and businesses across Valencia City, as well as parts of Maramag and Quezon towns.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Valencia City Public Information and Assistance Division said the DOE has responded through Luningning Baltazar, director of the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau. "DOE has officially forwarded the Resolution to the National Electrification Administration and the administration of the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative (FIBECO) for the next course of action," the statement said.
The DOE responded to Vice Mayor Greizl Fernandez after the city council passed Resolution No. 294-2025, which highlighted consumer complaints about alleged frequent power interruptions and poor service from FIBECO. The resolution noted that a stable power supply is needed to prevent daily activities from being hampered in the province's commercial hub.
The May 19 outage far exceeded FIBECO's scheduled 12-hour interruption from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m., which was intended for the replacement and upgrading of the Lumbo Substation transformer from 5MVA to 10MVA. The project included associated facilities of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and line vegetation clearing. However, technical complications delayed the restoration. Around 10 p.m., during attempts to energize the new transformer, another technical problem caused an explosion, forcing technicians to suspend operations.
FIBECO later revealed that the temporary 5MVA transformer had already been overloaded and had previously exploded in November 2025. Power was finally restored around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, extending the outage to nearly 27 hours.
The 27-hour blackout affected Valencia City, which has the highest population in Bukidnon. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority's 2024 census, Valencia City has 223,620 residents.
