DOE vows power will be back in Odette-hit areas before May polls

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Saturday assured the public that power supply, shut down by Typhoon Odette in some areas of the Visayas and Mindanao, will be completely restored before the May 9, 2022 elections. 

“Some portions of Southern Cebu, Southern Leyte, Northern Mindanao, and Palawan, are still challenging areas to reach… Will this carry on until the elections? I don’t think so. When the election period comes, I believe it will be back to normal,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said in a mix of English and Filipino at a virtual press briefing.

The Energy official said that volunteers helping to restore transmission lines are increasing.

“From 1,400 (volunteers) we reported on December 23, it has now reached 2,000 by December 25,” Fuentebella said.

He added that routes from Manila going to typhoon-hit areas are already reopening.

In its report, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said that as of December 24 about P1.562 billion worth of assets of the electric cooperatives in the affected areas were devastated by the typhoon.

According to NEA, 3.9 million households were affected; while services in about 40% or 1.5 million households were already restored.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said the actual demand in the Visayas as of Saturday morning is at 726 megawatts (MW) while the available generation capacity is 125 MW.

The NGCP said that restoration of transmission lines affected by the typhoon are ongoing, aiming to fully restore remaining lines by mid-January next year.

The National Power Corporation (NPC), on the other hand, said 64 of the 87 affected power plants in typhoon-hit areas have been fully restored.

Four power plants were on standby while the remaining 19 are still undergoing assessment and/or restoration.

The NPC incurred P10.9 million worth of damage in its facilities in seven regions and 16 provinces ravaged by Odette. —LBG, GMA News