Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday urged the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to include electrical linemen and meter readers in the priority list of the government’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination program.
Gatchalian said their job was important in keeping the country’s energy security, and ensuring continuous supply of power.
“Just like the other non-medical frontliners, linemen and meter readers who do house-to-house work also put their lives on the line by getting themselves exposed to those who could be possibly infected by the coronavirus,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“We appeal to the government to consider their prioritization ahead of the mass vaccination,” he said.
He further pointed out these linemen install power lines and do maintenance work, repair and other technical problems even under circumstances where strict health protocols are being enforced.
He also said they are in-charge of proper reading of meters for electrical billing statements. The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), itself, has 756 meter readers and 7,306 line personnel.
Nationwide, the senator said there's an estimated 9,680 linemen and 2,420 meter readers from electric cooperatives.
“These linemen and meter readers do field work and put themselves in harm’s way because they need to continue to provide for their respective families as well,” he said.
“They, too, can be considered as essential workers as their line of work ensures the unimpeded delivery of services of power facilities,” he pointed out.
Following the re-imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila, plus Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) appealed to local government units (LGUs) to allow the conduct of onsite electric meter reading activities while ensuring compliance to the prescribed health protocols.
The ERC explained this is to avoid Meralco from resorting to coming up with estimated billings, which resulted in questionable increases in electricity bills last year.
For its part, Meralco vowed there would be no more “bill shock” as meter-reading activities remain uninterrupted.