NEA vows to help quake-affected power distributors in Cotabato, Davao del Sur

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) on Wednesday vowed to assist electric cooperatives in North Cotabato and Davao del Sur to recover from the damages they sustained from the series of temblors in October.

In a statement on Wednesday, the government-owned-and-controlled corporation said its administrator Edgardo Masongsong have met with the officials of Cotabato Electric Cooperative, Inc. (COTELCO) and Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DASURECO) on Tuesday.

The two electric cooperatives distribute power supply to areas that were hit by the earthquakes.

COTELCO General Manager Godofredo Homez said at least seven barangays under their franchise remain unenergized as they are declared as "no-build zones," meaning construction of structures is no longer safe in these areas.

Due to the displaced people moving to evacuation centers,  Homez said the demand for electricity dropped by 30 percent. Also, some big industries are yet to resume normal operations.

"We hope by December we will be able to recover all of those things," Homez said, adding that damage to the COTELCO distribution facilities was pegged at around P1 million.

COTELCO covers Kidapawan City and 11 municipalities in North Cotabato.

The electric cooperative received power generator sets, tarpaulins and flash lights from One EC Network Foundation that were distributed to affected residents.

According to Masongsong, NEA is waiting for the Department of Energy (DOE) to release funds, so they can cover the cost for house wiring materials to respond to quake-hit consumers.

Meanwhile, DASURECO General Manager Ferdinand Canastra said the earthquakes caused the kilowatt-hour demand within their franchise area to also drop by 30 to 35 percent.

Canastra said their 5 Mega Volt Amp (MVA) substation in Poblacion, Malalag have sustained damage. They also detected an oil spill at the substation that can cause an explosion.

Due to this, DASURECO has already passed a resolution to install a 20 MVA mobile substation that will provide temporary power supply to areas served by the damaged substation.

Generator sets, flashlights, tarpaulins, as well as food packs and water have been distributed to 3,192 households from DASURECO, with the help of the One EC Network Foundation and AMRECO.

The NEA employees also donated P80, 000 to the earthquake victims. —Joviland Rita/LDF, GMA News