The country’s electric cooperatives (ECs) are stepping up restoration efforts to bring back electricity supply in many areas that had been recently pummeled by typhoon Bising – primarily those in Visayas and the Bicol region.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA), which has supervisory function over the ECs, indicated that the power utilities “are continuously working to fix the damage to power distribution facilities and restore electricity.”

As culled from the monitoring report of the NEA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department, several areas in Region 8 or Eastern Visayas experienced differing scale of power service interruptions.

The domains that had been encumbered with snagged power supply included Western Samar – primarily in the franchise areas of Samar I Electric Cooperative (SAMELCO I) – but some areas already had their electricity service restored, according to NEA.

Fully restored power had been reported in Calbayog City (Tinambacan District); Tagapul-an; Santo Nino; and Almagro; while areas with partially brought back electricity service had been those in Calbayog City (Oquendo District); Sta Margarita; Gandara; San Jorge; Tarangnan; Pagsanghan and Matuguinao.

The other jurisdictions which suffered temporary cut-off in their power services had been the franchise areas of Samar II Electric Cooperative Inc.; Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc; and Northern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc.

NEA similarly reported that repair works are also ongoing in other affected provinces – including those in Biliran, Leyte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon and Catanduanes in the Bicol region as well as Surigao del Norte province in Mindanao.

There had been no exact timeframe on when electricity services will be fully reinstated in all typhoon-walloped areas; but NEA stated that some of the affected locales already regained their service.

In the Bicol region, in particular, which had been recurrently hit by extreme weather disturbances last year and stricken again by the recent typhoon, the electrification agency said power services “were already back to normal” in the service areas of Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative (CASURECO II); CASURECO III and Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative.

In locales being served by First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative Inc. (FICELCO), it was noted that “power in the municipality of Bato was fully restored,” while repair works are still ongoing in the towns of Baras, Caramoran, Gigmoto, Panganiban, San Andres, Sam Miguel, Viga and Virac, as well as those on Bagamanoc and Pandan.

Power utilities are often clobbered by each strike of calamities, hence, energy companies are generally on their guard and have been continually reinforcing their capabilities for swift implementation of measures on the service restoration front.