Olango Island not yet ‘fully energized’ — MECO exec
Engineer Gilbert Pagobo, senior vice president and general manager of MECO or Mactan Electric Company, says they are facing logistic challenges in energizing the island. | CDN Digital file photo (Futch Anthony Inso)
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — Almost five months after Super Typhoon Odette hit Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City, some areas of the island have not yet been energized.
Engineer Gilbert Pagobo, general manager of Mactan Electric Company (MECO), said that logistics and delivery of electric posts had been a challenge to them from the mainland Lapu-Lapu to Olango Island.
“Dili man gud nato ma-predict ang dagat. Usahay mohonas, usahay motaob,” Pagobo said.
(We could not predict the sea. Sometimes it ebbs and sometimes the water rises.)
He said that they would still need to install around 90 electric posts in the area, out of the required 530 electric posts.
Pagobo, however, said that they were already at 75 percent before the completion of their work.
Of the 3,000 consumers of MECO on the island, he said that more than a thousand were already reconnected.
“Ang problema lang nato kay ang load, kay gamay ra kaayo ang mogamit og kuryente, especially at night,” he added.
(Our problem is the load because only a few consumers in the island would use electricity at night.)
Currently, Olango Island’s maximum power supply capacity is at 3 megawatts. However, the load of electricity being consumed by residents on the island is only 300 to 350 kilowatts.
“Mao nga kinahanglan mi magpawong sa among planta at night kay maguba man sad ang makina kung gamay ra ang mogamit,” he said.
(That is why we have to turn off the plant at night because the machine would be damaged if only a few would use electricity.)
Pagobo said he was confident that they would fully restore the power supply in Olango Island within this month.
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