NAIA power outage caused by MServ personnel’s lapse

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) said the brief power outage at the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was caused by a procedural lapse during the testing activities of its subsidiary.

“We are issuing this statement to confirm that MServ (Meralco Energy, Inc.), in the presence of Manila International Airport Authority personnel, was conducting testing activities of NAIA Terminal 3’s electrical facilities when the brief power outage occurred last Friday,” said Joe R. Zaldarriaga in a statement on Sunday.

“According to an incident report submitted to airport authorities, an MServ personnel accidentally left grounding conductors attached to an electrical equipment during a testing activity, which triggered an electrical fault at 12:50 p.m. that subsequently caused the power interruption of NAIA Terminal 3’s facilities on June 9,” he added.

In a separate press release, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that MServ gave the assurance that the “erring personnel will be dealt with accordingly.” 

On Friday, NAIA Terminal 3 experienced a 37-minute power outage from 12:52 p.m. to 1:29 p.m., MIAA Officer-in-Charge Bryan Andersen Y. Co said.

Mr. Co said the power interruption was not equipment-related and that MIAA generator sets kicked in, causing minimal disruption in airport processes.

Seven flights were delayed due to the power interruption, but none was canceled, he said.

Mr. Zaldarriaga said that Meralco passed a report putting in specific recommendations to ensure smoother conduct of electrical audits and testing activities at the terminal.

“These include, among others, the strict implementation of toolbox meeting among MIAA, MServ, and Meralco prior to any activity, and conduct of thorough joint inspection of work areas prior to energization of facilities being tested,” he said.

“We also assure MIAA, the Department of Transportation, and the commuting public that measures are being undertaken to prevent a similar incident from happening again,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile