HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPEVINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
May 9 is less than two months away, that day when we troop to the election booths and choose our next President. And from where I sit, it looks like it’ll be a scorching hot summer day when emotions will be running high, and our immediate future will be poised in the balance. Polls and surveys between today and the 9th will be watched and scrutinized, and if there’s one sure thing we can count on, it’s that proverbial ‘battle lines’ have been drawn and quartered, with partisan politics ruling the day.
Here at the Manila Bulletin, we’ve been promoting public information campaigns centered on the slogan of #Matalinong Boto Para Sa Magandang Bukas - making the learned, rational choice, rather than letting mere popularity or name recall rule our decision-making. It’s about us voting for who is the most qualified, who will guide us through the post-pandemic realities, and help steer us to realize the potential our children and children’ children richly deserve.
With the prevalence of social media and fake news, responsible media platforms will be depended on to provide verified information. And it’s good to know that franchised corporations providing important and vital utilities are also taking preparations for Summer, and May 9, very seriously. As is the case with Meralco, Metro Manila’s power distributor; that holds the franchise for 22 cities and 89 municipalities, including the whole NCR (National Capital Region).
For the upcoming national and local elections, Meralco is only too aware of how crucial stable and quality power service will be. With 3,000 polling centers and over 100 canvassing centers located within its franchise area, Meralco is ready to address any electricity-related problem or issue. Schools that serve as canvassing and polling centers will have their electrical factors checked to ensure they’ll be in good condition. From service equipment, to fuse and circuit breaker ratings and service drop, if said facilities need corrective measures, Meralco will be making sure they’re ready in time for the election.
In critical locations identified by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Meralco conducts inspection and maintenance of its distribution facilities to ensure that the entire network will be in optimum condition on Election Day. In fact, last December, mock elections were held by the COMELEC, and Meralco was able to simulate outage incidents and check the readiness of its crew and contractors to respond to troubles that may occur in May.
As Meralco Spokesperson and VP for Communications Joe Zaldarriaga explained, “Historically, Meralco’s franchise area has had no problems during election period, but we have prepared contingency plans in case of isolated power outages to ensure that our facilities and personnel are ready to respond to any emergency. Our generator sets will be ready, and our crews will be deployed in strategic locations so that in case of isolated interruptions, we can immediately respond and resolve the problem.”
From the COMELEC-supervised mock elections exercises held late last year, where Meralco Business Center representatives and line crew conducted simulations of power outages. This one was conducted at the Pasay City West National High School, where response and restoration time were monitored as part of the activity.
Meralco’s call center group similarly tested its preparedness to handle outage calls and power concerns, as reported by election officers during the said mock elections. And another key element in place, as part of Meralco gearing up for the upcoming summer months, is the procurement of 350 MW of additional supply to cover the increase in demand until July 2022.
To achieve this, Meralco recently secured the best offer from South Premiere Power Corporation for its 170 MW of peaking power requirement, through a CSP (Competitive Selection Process) held last Feb. 2. The balance of 180 MW baseload capacity will be covered by another round of CSP.
Crucial to its summer preparations, Meralco has its ILP (Interruptible Load Program), a voluntary demand-side management program that allows big power customers to operate their generator sets when there is limited power supply, in order to collectively reduce electricity drawn from the grid when power interruptions are imminent. This allows for a healthy balance between supply and demand, preventing widespread interruptions. Previous ILP activations have saved millions of households from rotating brownouts. As of February 2022, there were 123 companies signed up as ILP participants - representing a total committed de-loading capacity of over 560 MW.
Whether for the upcoming elections, or for the summer months, Meralco is ready, and there’s comfort to be taken from that.