Comelec to meet with Napocor to assess power situation in Mindanao

The Commission on Elections is set to meet with the officials of the National Power Corporation early next month to assess the power situation in Mindanao for the May 13 polls. “We are setting up a meeting with Napocor. Pag-uusapan namin kung ano ang kanilang projection,” poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. told reporters Thursday. “We have to know what is the situation kasi it will affect the automated elections,” he added. The meeting will be held after Holy Week. Told that the battery of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines can last up to 12 hours, Brillantes said they do not want to exhaust the power of the machine. “Oo naman pero we don’t want to use the battery, delikado rin yun. Mabuti na yung regular power. Support lang naman yun [the battery], just in case. Yung pa-brownout-brownout, papatay-patay kaya ng battery yan,” he said. The poll chairman said the body earlier procured generator sets for each of the precincts as standby power for emergency situations. “Me supply kami pero we don’t intend to use the generator set,” he said. Mindanao has been experiencing rotational brownouts due to the drying up of Lake Lanao. A hydroelectric plant is installed on the lake and generates the electricity used by most of the people on the island. — BM, GMA News