DND, DOE to find out if China can shut down power grid

December 5, 2019

The Department of National Defense (DND) and Department of Energy (DOE) will put up a team to look into the alleged capability of China to shut down the Philippine power grid.


"We are putting up a team, defense and the Department of Energy, to really find out, to prove and disprove the allegations of others that China can shut down our grid anytime they want," said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday  in a forum in Makati City.


"We are going to assess or inspect the NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) in the coming days," he added.


NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza has denied the allegation saying that it is "not possible".


"There is no proverbial Wile E. Coyote Acme red button that you can press to shut down the grid,'' said Alabanza in a television interview early this week.


"We have over 200 substations all over the country and if you want to 'shut down the grid' you have to manually close each breaker in each substation so that is not possible," she added.


Retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said it is easy for China to shut down the national grid as it is being manned or maintained by the Chinese firm, news reports said. Robina Asido/DMS