The field personnel and crew of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as well as other power companies, like the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), had to sacrifice missing their families on Christmas day as they were deployed for restoration works at calamity-hit areas in Visayas and Mindanao.
House Committee on Energy Chairnan Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo cited the non-stop work and round-the-clock service that the NGCP workers and other energy sector personnel had rendered in the past days just to bring back light in communities recently pummeled by typhoon Odette.
Arroyo primarily commended the NGCP crew as well as the deployed teams of other power firms “who have been working tirelessly even in the holiday season when everyone is supposed to be spending time with their loved ones.”
NGCP facilities in many parts of Visayas and Mindanao had been hammered by the super typhoon. Since these facilities are considered the backbone of the country’s power infrastructure, reinforced efforts on restoration at the transmission leg of the supply chain must be mounted first first before power supply could be brought back into the level of the private distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) and then to the households and establishments.
Arroyo conveyed that he has been in constant coordination with NGCP President Anthony Almeda, “discussing with him on expediting power restoration in areas affected by Odette to ensure people in those areas may at least have lighted homes during this season.”
The lawmaker indicated that the transmission firm delivered on its promise to fast-track electricity service restoration, emphasizing that he is being updated “at least three times a day on the progress of power restoration.”
As of December 27, 2021 status report, Arroyo relayed that NGCP already reinstated power services in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Biliran, Cebu, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar.
Partial electricity services had likewise been re-established in Negros Oriental and Surigao del Sur; and NGCP’s new commitment is to fully restore power supply in these domains before New Year.
By far, Bohol is the only disaster-stricken area with no rescheduled date on when it will be getting its full power supply back because of the remaining physical as well as technical hurdles being experienced in restoration activities in the area.
Another key industry player applauded by Arroyo is power utility giant Meralco – that even if its franchise areas are outside the disaster-hit communities, it still figured prominently in bringing back lights in the affected jurisdictions.
The solon primarily extolled the utility firm for deploying 160-man contingent of engineers, linemen and support personnel – and it even extended extra support by sending vehicles, generator sets and heavy equipment, which served as anchor to fortify restoration works in the extremely devastated Cebu and Bohol provinces.
According to Arroyo, “a total of 54 Meralco personnel are already assisting in power restoration activities in Cebu while 31 out of 106 personnel are already deployed in Bohol.”
The Meralco team was also assisted by its subsidiaries Meralco PowerGen Corporation and Global Business Power Corporation in the provision of 20,000 liters of diesel to run the generator sets of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Smart, so telecommunications service can also be brought back in the affected areas while One Meralco Foundation also helped in coordination with the concerned local government units.
Arroyo, nevertheless, acknowledged that additional repair and restoration works are still needed for power lines in Visayas, including Maasin-Nasaug-San Isidro; Ubay-Alicia-Garcia; Ubay-Trinidad-Carmen; Amlan-San Carlos lines; and the Placer-Madrid line in Mindanao.