Distribution Utilities (DUs) must be aware of the vaccine cold storage facilities within their jurisdiction so as to avoid hiccups in the mass inoculation campaign against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Thus, said Director Mario Marasigan of the Department of Energy's Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (DOE-EPIMB).
"Dapat po pag-igihin ng mga Distribution Utilities yung pagbabantay sa mga linya ng kuryente. At dapat po naka-focus sila kung saan po, dapat po alam na nila, kung nasaan nakalagay ang mga storage facilities ng ating vaccines dahil nangangailangan po ito ng matinding kuryente (Distribution Utilities must intensify the guarding of power lines. They must also focus on, and be aware of, the location of storage facilities for vaccines because they need steady power supply)," Marasigan said Sunday, Feb.28.
The same day, some 600,000 doses of the China-donated CoronaVac vaccines arrived in the country. It was the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to arrive on Philippine soil.
It has been widely-reported that the anti-COVID jabs need to be kept at a certain low temperature, or else they would spoil.
"Kailangan po ang ating mga (DUs) ay sapat ang supply ng kanilang kuryente. Dapat ho bantayan din nila na yung kanilang mga power suppliers ay wala pong aandap-andap na supply (Our DUs must ensure ample supply of electricity. They must also see to it that their power suppliers don't have flickering supply)," Marasigan said.
DOE Sec. Alfonso Cusi last month ordered DUs to guarantee continuous, reliable, and stable power supply for vaccine cold storage and health care facilities through the use of back-up generators sets and/or distribution system configuration.