Linemen ‘valiant heroes’ in post-'Odette' Cebu:Power restoration update

[ASEAN NOW News]

VALIANT HEROES. Linemen restore lines in Cebu in this undated photo. Kenneth Cobonpue, an internationally renowned furniture designer who chairs the Regional Development Council (RDC)-Central Visayas, on Tuesday (Dec. 28, 2021) commended the linemen from Cebu, Manila and Mindanao who race against time in restoring power lines within the deadline. (File photo)

 

CEBU CITY – The Regional Development Council-Central Visayas (RDC-7) on Tuesday commended the linemen from Cebu, Manila, and Mindanao who raced against time in restoring power supply in typhoon-affected areas.

 

In a message to reporters, RDC-7 chair Kenneth Cobonpue called the linemen from Visayan Electric and their augmentation teams from Meralco, Cagayan Electric Power, and Light Co., Cotabato Light Co., and Subic Enerzone as “valiant heroes of the Cebuano communities.”

 

“They all continue to remain hard at work, unwavering in their mission to help Cebu rise back again from this disaster. On behalf of all Cebuanos, we extend our deepest gratitude to all of them as well as to countless Cebuanos in our neighborhoods who have also continued to hold their heads up high, keeping calm and carrying on, never faltering to do their part in helping restore and rebuild our communities,” he said.

 

Cobonpue, an internationally renowned furniture designer, said “all of them are the true heroes and warriors who continue to lead Cebu in this battle,” stressing that their “indomitable and determined spirit is the foundation and the unrelenting driving force moving our beloved Cebu forward.”

 

He also cited the “selfless leaders of our Cebu LGUs who remain courageous and undeterred by the enormity of the daunting challenges facing them.”

 

Visayan Electric, an Aboitiz Power Corporation distribution utility subsidiary, on Monday said it is targeting to have 80 percent restoration of power to customers in almost all urbanized areas within its franchise by January 10 next year, with the hardest to reach areas to get energized by the end of the same month.

 

It is also targeting 100 percent completion of hospitals and 80 percent of water pumping stations by December 31.

The country’s second-largest distribution unit said it is optimistic that re-energization will reach 30 percent by New Year’s Eve.

 

Power restoration update

 

Cobonpue reported that as of Monday, Visayan Electric has already breached the 100-megawatt output level, delivering 115.78-MW to 107,939 households or customers in its franchise area.

 

“This is an additional 26,279 households/customers being reenergized for yesterday (Dec. 27) alone. VECO has likewise restored 288 or 52.9 percent of the 544 power line segments in its area, restoring power already to 22.76 percent of its total customer base, well on track to their committed schedule of reenergizing 30 percent or 142,000 households or customers by Friday this week, Dec. 31,’ he said.

 

Raul Lucero, VECO president and chief executive officer (CEO), on Monday urged local government units to clear the roads and collect their garbage that are blocking the roads.

 

He said roads that are cleared from garbage and debris would mean faster restoration and rehabilitation of electrical lines.

 

Lucero said VECO will not bill their customers from Dec. 17 to Jan. 31 as a form of reprieve or grace period for all consumers since their electrical lines were destroyed by the typhoon.

 

Water connection concerns

 

The RDC-7 reported a huge accomplishment in reconnecting water services in the greater area of Metro Cebu covered by its largest water district.

 

As Monday, the Metro Cebu Water District has already partially restored water supply to seventy-nine barangays. This is 47 percent out of the total 168 barangays under its coverage area,

 

Such accomplishment, he said, translates to 133,300 cubic meters delivered daily to at least 120,000 households or customers.

 

“These 133,300 cubic meters (per) day output as of yesterday is already 55.6 percent of its total normal output of 240,000 cubic meters a day prior to the typhoon,” he said. (PNA)

 

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