The rural electrification sector felt the impact of Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) with eight electric cooperatives (ECs), all based in Visayas, declaring a state of total power interruption on Tuesday morning, November 4, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has reported.
Electricity services were cut in BANELCO (Bantayan Island), BILECO (Biliran), CEBECO 2 and 3 (Cebu), CELCO (Camotes Island), ESAMELCO (Eastern Samar), LEYECO 2 and 3 (Leyte), according to the monitoring of NEA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (DRRMD).
The NEA-DRRMD said it is closely monitoring 57 ECs in 35 provinces across 10 regions, particularly in Visayas, where ‘Tino’ passed through several process, bringing heavy rains and strong winds in the process.
“There is a safety protocol that has to be followed. Line inspection has to be done before electricity can be restored in the substations. So, just a little patience and I hope we are all safe.”
At least 18 ECs in affected localities remain under normal operations while 15 experienced partial outages. Others have yet to submit status updates amid reports of connectivity lines going offline in parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
In Eastern Visayas, NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said the affected ECs are already working to restore power distribution services despite the challenging weather conditions, except in the franchise area of DORELCO (Don Orestes Romualdez), which is based in Tolosa, Leyte.
“There was information on our Viber group that some lines are down… ‘Yun lang ang medyo kailangan alalayan (That is the lone EC that needs some assistance),”
Administrator Almeda noted, referring to the status of DORELCO, which already requested for task force augmentation.
The NEA chief also reported that ECs in Dinagat Islands and Siargao in the Caraga Administrative Region likewise struggled with total power interruption on Monday night, but its situation has improved as of Tuesday morning after the storm passed in those areas.
Based on the report of APEC party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc, also the general manager of Siargao Electric Cooperative, Inc (SIARELCO), power restoration efforts and line inspection are already underway subject to safety protocols.
The NEA-DRRMD said it is closely monitoring 57 ECs in 35 provinces across 10 regions, particularly in Visayas, where ‘Tino’ passed through several process, bringing heavy rains and strong winds in the process.
“We are now monitoring (the situation) in Cebu and, hopefully, it will not greatly affect the path going to Palawan,” Administrator Almeda said. He added that exact figures from the field would be known by the end of the day when all status reports from the affected ECs come in.
Based on initial reports evaluated by the NEA-DRRMD, 423 out of 681 municipalities or 62.11 percent under the service areas of power cooperatives are awaiting electricity reconnection, equivalent to 3,016 affected barangays or 1,073,037 customers
“The respective cooperatives have assured me that they can handle the restoration process. Actually, last night, I just called their attention to make sure that critical services like hospitals do have generators,” Administrator Almeda said.
The NEA chief said he has authorized the ECs to extend the necessary financial assistance to the affected public hospitals to purchase fuel for their generators. He also said they expect the cost of damage to electric facilities to rise, considering the scale of Typhoon Tino.
Administrator Almeda likewise appealed for patience among residents in the affected communities.
“There is a safety protocol that has to be followed. Line inspection has to be done before electricity can be restored in the substations. So, just a little patience and I hope we are all safe,” he said.
