Power Outage Disrupts DOE Chief’s Press Briefing in Taguig

A brief power outage disrupted a press conference led by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla at the Department of Energy (DOE) compound in Taguig City on Thursday around noon.

The electricity was cut for nearly 10 minutes before backup generators restored power. Secretary Lotilla attributed the brownout to a localized issue within the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. building, where the event was held. He suggested that the surge in equipment usage may have overwhelmed the facility’s electrical capacity.

“This building couldn’t handle the sudden increase in power demand. It’s something we’ll need to consider moving forward,” Lotilla explained.

The DOE later confirmed that a Manila Electric Company (Meralco) repair crew responded promptly and traced the issue to a blown fuse in the building’s internal system.

Meralco, in a statement, said the fault appeared to be within the loadside facility and assured ongoing support to fully resolve the issue.

Despite the incident, Secretary Lotilla maintained that the national power grid remains stable and reliable, emphasizing that such localized glitches don’t reflect the overall state of the country’s energy infrastructure.