Households with power disruptions down to 360,000 – Meralco

MANILA, Philippines — The number of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers that had power disruptions and outages have declined to around 360,000 from a peak of more than half a million at the height of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

Meralco said as of noon yesterday, only 360,489 customers were affected by the tropical storm, down from a peak of 566,416 on the evening of Oct. 24.

A majority of affected areas are in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas while the rest are in Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan and Quezon, according to the company’s press briefing yesterday.

Based on its latest update, at least 191,186 Meralco customers in Cavite still had power outages from the total 900,095 customers affected in Cavite.

In Batangas, some 39,133 households had power disruptions, 18,035 in Metro Manila, 13,847 in Rizal, 4,773 in Bulacan and 3,468 in Quezon.

Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga committed that power services in the majority of the remaining affected households would be restored before Saturday.

“Following last night’s strong winds and torrential rains, we would like to ask for our customers’ patience and understanding as we have to follow protocols and prioritize their safety, especially in flooded areas,” Zaldarriaga said.

“Our crews are tirelessly working to restore services to most of the affected customers by the end of the day,” he added.

Transmission lines down

?In a related development, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said five power transmission lines in Luzon were still unavailable or partially unavailable yesterday because of the impact of Kristine.

The affected power lines were Bolinao 69kV Line, which has been partially energized, Batangas-Mabini-Cuenca 69kV line, Batangas-Taysan 69kV Line and Naga-Iriga 69kV Line, which has also been partially energized, according to the NGCP.

It said one 500kV transmission line was unavailable as of yesterday afternoon.

NGCP said it has mobilized its line crews and is currently conducting patrols while simultaneous restoration activities are also being conducted in areas already accessible.

“Please note that this update pertains only to the status of the transmission network. Localized disturbances may be better addressed by your distribution utility. This also does not include lines exclusively serving directly connected industrial customers,” it said.

“Specific cities and municipalities affected by the unavailable transmission facility are determined by concerned distribution utilities, unless the outage affects the entire franchise area,” it added.

Telcos restore service

Telcos have put back their network service in typhoon-hit areas as instructed by the government, helping victims access information online and connect to their loved ones.

As of Friday, network provider Globe Telecom Inc. said it has restored its cellular signal in seven areas struck by Kristine: Camarines Norte, Oriental Mindoro, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar and Southern Leyte.

Likewise, Globe said it is close to reestablishing its mobile services in Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, Albay, Sorsogon and Leyte.

On top of this, Globe has sent out free calls, charging and internet stations in severely hit areas to provide communications support to victims of the storm. The telco committed to speed up its restoration efforts to assist the public and private sectors in delivering their relief programs.

Telco giant PLDT Inc. meanwhile is lending the provincial government of Albay its Infocast service to communicate with hard-hit towns. Authorities are using the technology to disseminate crucial information in the affected communities.

Apart from this, PLDT consolidated its relief supplies of mostly food and medicine and shipped them to Naga, Camarines Sur through a chartered flight.

The PLDT Group, together with the Alagang Kapatid Foundation Inc., has put up an operational base in Albay where relief trucks from Metro Manila are unloading supplies.

Digital bank Maya, owned by PLDT, is also leading a donation drive through the app to collect funds from willing members.   –  Elijah Felice Rosales