(Taguig City). The Department of Energy (DOE) and its attached agencies are implementing continuous monitoring, coordination and restoration of energy facilities affected by supertyphoon Lawin and typhoon Karen.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said: "We are fast-tracking the restoration of power facilities to bring back electricity supply to typhoon-hit areas."
Cusi also gave due recognition to the dedication of the linemen and crews of electric cooperatives (ECs), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and National Electrification Administration (NEA) as well as DOE’s partners in the private sector.
“They have been doing restoration efforts round-the-clock just to keep the public safe from dangling electric lines in order to provide access to electricity again,” he said.
Per the report of the NGCP, there are a total of 192 damaged poles (105 leaning and 87 toppled), including other line defects. The status of restoration of transmission facilities in typhoon-hit areas is as follows:
I. RESTORED LINES (AS OF 5:00 P.M. OF OCTOBER 23)
·All 230 kiloVolt (kV) and 115kV have been normalized. No toppled tower reported.
·All affected 69kV lines in La Union, Ilocos Norte and Sur have been fully restored.
·Transmission facilities servicing Benguet & Mountain Province are 100% restored.
·Transmission facilities servicing Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, Kalinga and Apayao are 35% restored. There are three (3) remaining 69 kV still down and restoration is ongoing. Seven (7) out of seventy (70) toppled transmission structures (wood & steel poles) have been restored. Most of the structures are located in the difficult and mountainous areas.
II. TRANSMISSION LINES FOR RESTORATION:
· Cauayan-Reina Mercedes 69kV line servicing ISELCO I (24 October)
· Gamu-Ilagan-Naguilian -Reina Mercedes 69kV line servicing ISELCO I, ISELCO II (24 October)
· Tuguegarao-Cabagan 69kV line servicing ISELCO II (24 October)
· Santiago-Cauayan 69kV line servicing ISELCO I (24 October)
· Tuguegarao-Magapit-Ca malaniugan-Sta. Ana 69kV line servicing CAGELCO I, CAGELCO II (24 October for CAGELCO I; 29 October for CAGELCO II)
· Tuguegarao-Tabuk 69kV line servicing CAGELCO I, Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative (KAELCO) (24 October for CAGELCO I; 31 October for KAELCO)
Moreover, the NGCP reported that the following facilities are ready for energization but remain de-energized upon the request of the respective distribution utilities:
· Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC)
· Currimao-Langayan 69-kV line
· Currimao-San Nicolas 69-kV line
· Laoag-Marcos 69-kV line
· Laoag-San Nicolas 69-kV line
On the distribution side, NEA and the ECs reported the status of rehabilitation as follows:
III. DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES REHABILITATION STATUS (AS OF 6:00 P.M. OF OCTOBER 23)
· Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative – 30% rehabilitated
· Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative –80% rehabilitated
· Abra Electric Cooperative –1% rehabilitated due to roads being unpassable
· La Union Electric Cooperative –99% rehabilitated
· BENECO – Of the 14 towns, 7 were partially restored
· MOPRECO –Of the 11 towns, 3 were partially restored (Bauko, Tadian & Sabangan)
· Ifugao Electric Cooperative –Of the11 towns, 7 were partially restored
· KAELCO –Still under restoration process
· CAGELCO I –Still under restoration process
· CAGELCO II –Of the 22 towns, 10 were ready to receive power
· ISELCO I –Of the 15 towns, 13 were partially restored (Alicia, Angandanan, Cabatuan, Santiago, Cordon, Echague, Jones, Ramon, San Agustin, San Isidro, San Mateo, Cauayan, San Guillermo)
· ISELCO II –Of the 21 towns, 1 was partially restored
· Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative –Of the 15 towns, 13 were partially restored
· Quirino Electric Cooperative –Of the 7 towns, all were partially restored (Aglipay, Diffun, Cabarroguis, Maddela, San Agustin, Nagtipunan and Saguday)
“Meanwhile, NEA’s Task Force Kapatid (TFK) will assist the restoration of CAGELCO I, ISELCO II and KAELCO. The TFK is a bayanihan of electric cooperatives to fast-track any restoration efforts of disaster affected electric cooperatives in the country. “ Cusi explained.
“The restoration for the affected areas was easier due to the NGCP, NEA and ECs’ implementation of disaster preparedness and emergency response, which also minimized the adverse impact of the supertyphoon,” Sec. Cusi concluded.
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