Power in Odette-hit areas may be fully restored by February —NDRRMC

Authorities are hoping to fully restore by February 2022 the electricity in regions battered by Typhoon Odette which left hundreds of people homeless, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Sunday.

In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said the government is also trying to restore power even in January.

"'Yan po ang ano pinapakita sa scenario, aabot ang February bago makabalik ang serbisyo. Ang rinig ko sa lalong madaling panahon makabalik ang serbisyo para bago dumating ang bagong taon o sa Enero pa lang ma-enjoy ng kababayan natin ang serbisyo ng kuryente," said Timbal.

(That is the scenario being shown, that it will take until February before power service will be fully restored. From what I heard, they are working on restoring power soonest so that before the new year or in January, our countrymen will have electricity.)

But Timbal explained that for some regions, the government must first address the shelter problem before restoring power as many houses were damaged or swept away by the typhoon.

"However, sa punto po nito, magkakakuryente ang isang lugar pero kung kabahayan nila 'di pa puwede tumanggap ng kuryente, napinsala po, sabay-sabay po talagang aayusin 'yan," said Timbal.

(However, at this point, electricity may be restored but if their houses could not have power because these were destroyed, we will first fix all that.)

Currently, power has been restored to 150 of 269 cities and municipalities that experienced power outages and interruption due to the typhoon.

The Department of Energy 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.  

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) meanwhile said restoration of transmission lines affected by the typhoon are ongoing, aiming to fully restore remaining lines by mid-January next year.

It added that 85% of transmission lines damaged by Odette, representing 81 out of 95 transmission lines, were already fixed. The NGCP said Bohol has no power yet. However, restoration work is ongoing in Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Negros and Caraga regions, it said, according to a report on News Live on Saturday.

During his visit to Cebu and Bohol areas hit by Odette on Sunday, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to give housing assistance and ensure prompt restoration of power supply, among others, the Palace said Monday.

Despite hundreds of casualties, Timbal said the national government and local governments were prepared for Odette's onslaught.

"What if kung hindi tayo naghanda, e di mas matindi pa siguro 'yung sinapit (What if we didn't prepare? Then things would be worse)," said Timbal.

Latest data from NDRRMC showed that 367 people died, 732 were hurt, and 62 were missing.  

The NDRRMC also estimated P3,999,252,642.04 in damage to infrastructure, and P2,090,445,262.13 in losses to agriculture. —KG, GMA News