Cebuanos crowd free charging stations with power still out

| DICT photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – With power supply still out, many Cebuanos are now in dire need to charge their cellphones and other gadgets.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) opened on Saturday morning, December 18, a free charging station at their Visayas Cluster 2 office located at Plaza Independencia in Cebu City.

“To our community in Cebu City, DICT Visayas Cluster 2 is offering limited free charging and Free Wifi For All services. We are located in Plaza Independencia, between the Post Office and Malacanang sa Sugbu,'” DICT said in an advisory.

| DICT photo

Some local government units in Cebu also opened free charging stations.

The municipality of Samboan opened a free charging station at their covered court.

In Catmon town in the north, private individuals partnered with the municiapal government for the operation of free charging stations in their respective areas.

Several charging stations are also found in Cebu City, some of which are located inside malls.

The Visayan Electric said that as of 12 noon on Saturday, December 18, blackout continues to affect their entire franchise area.

“As of this time, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) cleared the high voltage direct current however, the marshaling station in Tongonan is still down and minimal to no load in Leyte should supply come in,'” Visayan Electric said in an advisory.

“Cebu Private Power Corporation (CPPC) will be online to serve the franchise at 7:00 PM with 18 MW supply,” it added.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for its part said they are “simultaneously restoring lines and conducting damage assessment through foot patrols and aerial inspections.”

“Our aerial inspections were delayed when our choppers were forced to turn around and return to base yesterday by aviation authorities due to unsafe weather conditions. Nevertheless, on the ground efforts continue. Today’s clearer weather allowed us to proceed with aerial inspections, which we hope will be completed this morning to give us a full picture of the nature and extent of damage. We will then be able to give a more accurate estimate for restoration completion.”