Aboitiz Power linemen from the Visayas and Mindanao test their skills in climbing poles during the second Rodeolympics held last July 3 at the Veco Development Center in Sirao, Cebu City. cdn photo/Delta Dyrecka Letigio
Like sons of the lightning god Thor, electrical linemen from the Visayas and Mindanao gathered in a competition of skills and proficiency for this year’s AboitizPower Distribution Utilities (APDU) Rodeolympics held last July 3.
Now on its second year, the annual Rodeolympics featured 35 robust and lively electricians from the different APDU electric companies.
The linemen, composed of inter-mingling members from the Davao Light and Power Co. Inc., Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), Cotabato Light and Power Co., Subic Enerzone, Balamban Enerzone, Mactan Enerzone and Lima Enerzone, were divided into five groups.
The teams were named the Blue Vigilant Avengers, Yellow Fiery Experts, Black Teen Titans, Green Gallant Guardians, and Red Reliable Thundercats.
APDU Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jaime Jose Aboitiz, who founded the Rodeolympics, said that the games serve to enhance collaboration and camaraderie among employees of the different utility companies.
“While we hold competitions like these to test our skills and abilities, remember that we are one Aboitiz family. We learn together, we improve together, and most of all, we have fun together,” said Aboitiz in his opening speech.
Like in the first Rodeolympics, the teams had to undergo eight stages in the obstacle course at the hills of the Veco Development Center in Barangay Sirao, Cebu City.
The race consisted of four sets of poles with corresponding goals such as replacing wooden cross-arms, closing lateral fuse cut-outs, and saving the life of an electrocuted fellow lineman in the form of a dummy.
The competition was both a race for time and accuracy.
The teams not only had to reach the finish line first but they had to follow the correct procedures in every stage ensuring the safety of both the linemen climbing the electrical posts, and the groundmen waiting below.
In the end, the Red Reliable Thundercats won first place, the Black Teen Titans team bagged the second place, while the Blue Vigilant Avengers team won third place.
Anton Mari Percides, COO of Veco, attributed the standardization of the APDU services in the last year with the founding of the Rodeolympics.
Ever since the utilities have been sharing ideas, collaborating, and cooperating, there have been noticeable improvements in the services of each company.
“New innovations are being passed around such as the different set-ups of the crossbeams, the locations of our fault indicators, and what kinds of wires to use,” said Perdices.
Aboitiz hopes that the Rodeolympics will continue in the following years to ensure the collaboration of the distributing utilities under AboitizPower.
Aboitiz believes that after all, APDUs can deliver better service only if they work together. /USJ-R Journalism Intern Delta Dyrecka Letigio