Meralco, Global Business assist Panay co-ops

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) have provided technical assistance to electric cooperatives in Panay, repairing and restoring electricity lines within their franchises areas that were severely damaged due to Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Meralco Power Gen Corp., the power generation arm of Meralco, owns 20 percent of GBPC.

At the initiative of its subsidiary Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC), GBPC tapped Meralco technical personnel who traveled to the province to supplement and help repair crews of Capiz Electric Cooperative Inc. (Capelco), the most severely hit coop in Panay. It was reported that there were over 300 poles and three substations damaged in the island.

Capelco’s franchise area covers 16 municipalities in Capiz, Akelco services 17 municipalities in Aklan and two in Antique while Ileco 3 services three municipalities in Iloilo.

Meralco immediately set forth to assess the damage with inputs from the ground from PEDC as well as reports from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). This allowed the emergency response team to determine the required manpower, special equipment and materials to bring.

Meralco shared its technical expertise and modern equipment including line trucks. Over 60 Meralco and GBPC personnel also beefed up the cooperatives repair teams. This support allowed the cooperatives to fasttrack the repair and restoration of their main lines and backbone.

Capelco general manager Edgar Diaz also reported that the projected month-long restoration works will be cut short to about 20 to 25 days because of the manpower support from Meralco, other electric cooperatives, the Department of Energy, and attached agencies.

The cooperatives are now ready to receive power as soon as the NGCP is done in repairing its facilities that were damaged during the typhoon. The NGCP has targeted energization of various substations covering three cooperatives by Dec. 20 so that power will be restored in time for Christmas.

GBPC is a member of the GT Capital Group of Companies of which Metrobank is the flagship company. It has 627 megawatts of coal and bunker-fueled plants located mainly in the islands of Panay and Cebu.