Photo courtesy of Veco | CDN File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Visayan Electric assured Cebuanos that power will be up in some areas within a week.
In a meeting with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on December 18, 2021, the representatives of the two power utilities gave an assurance to energize some of the typhoon-stricken areas in Cebu by then.
Capitol-run media, Sugbo News reported that the governor urged the energy utilities to expedite the restoration of power supply in the Province.
Garcia wants the power to be available as soon as possible.
Visayan Electric is now conducting clearing operations and assessments of their affected electrical posts.
In their recent statement, they announced that 18 Megawatts of power will be online from the Cebu Private Power Corporation (CPPC) anytime from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“With this, we will be prioritizing our hospitals, water providers, and other vital institutions,” said Visayan Electric.
This would provide additional water supply by powering the pumps of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.
NGCP is waiting to get a power supply from Leyte so it can initially power up some parts of Cebu through the power distributors such as Visayan Electric and CEBECO.
They also continue to assess the damage of their transmission towers, which is among the challenges in restoring power in Cebu.
NGCP denied earlier reports that it will take 15 days to 1 month for the power to return to normal, as was reported by the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) during a special session of the Cebu City Council.
In a statement, they said that they have no restoration schedule yet.
“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 the damage. We will then be able to give a more accurate estimate for restoration completion,” said NGCP. /rcg
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