Unimpeded energy services will be ensured in the National Capital Region and four nearby provinces (NCR Plus) where a two-week general community quarantine (GCQ) "bubble" was implemented as part of the government's efforts to curb the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, in a statement, said that while travel restrictions are imposed in NCR, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite or NCR Plus, the public can expect that the delivery of energy services will not be affected.
"Kami po sa DOE ay sisiguraduhin ang tuluy-tuloy na serbisyong enerhiya hindi lamang sa mga GCQ areas kundi sa buong Pilipinas. Patuloy natin titiyakin na may sapat na supply ng kuryente at langis upang sa ganun, patuloy din ang pag-usad ng ating ekonomiya laban sa hamon ng COVID-19 (The DOE will ensure that energy services will remain unhampered not only in the GCQ areas but in the entire Philippines. We will make sure that we have enough supply of energy and oil so that the economy will continue to recover amid the challenges of COVID-19)," Cusi said.
To make this possible, Cusi directed the agency’s Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) and the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) to male sure that there will be enough power and oil supplies in the NCR Plus from March 22 to April 4.
The Energy chief also designated Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez, DOE’s Task Force Energy Resiliency chairperson, as the department’s OIC-alternate representative for the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.