With 161,076 customers still without electricity a month after Typhoon Odette, the Visayan Electric Company said it is on track in meeting the target to energize its entire franchise area by January 31, 2022, except for houses or buildings that were destroyed.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, Visayan Electric said it was able to energize 66.03 percent or 313,106 out of its 474,182 affected customers within Metro Cebu.
Energized areas are parts of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, and Naga and the municipalities of San Fernando, Minglanilla, Consolacion and Liloan.
Quennie Bronce, Visayan Electric’s reputation manager, told SunStar Cebu that despite some setbacks after the typhoon, they are confident that they can restore power supply for the remaining 161,076 customers in the next 16 days to reach the January 31 target.
Bronce said, though, that not all of the customers’ properties could be energized by January 31 due to some factors, including destruction of their homes after the typhoon.
Other power distributors in Cebu have also reported progress on their restoration efforts in their respective franchise areas.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on January 10, the Cebu Electric Cooperative 2 (Cebeco 2) said that it has restored power supply in all barangay halls, barangay roads and other barangay facilities in the entire franchise area 24 days after Typhoon Odette hit Cebu.
Based on its report, around 320 barangays in 13 towns under Cebeco 2 have been fully energized.
Cebeco 2’s franchise area includes Compostela, Danao City, Carmen, Catmon, Sogod, Borbon, Tabogon, Tabuelan, Tuburan, San Remigio, Bogo City, Medellin and Daanbantayan.
But the same report stated that Cebeco 2 has yet to reach 100 percent power supply restoration for consumers, both residences and businesses, due to various reconnection factors including damage to properties, construction or repairs, service entrance problems, among others.
As for Cebeco 3, the power distributor reported on Thursday, January 13, that around 61.88 percent of households under its franchise have been energized.
Cebeco 3’s franchise area includes Toledo City, some mountain barangays under Cebu City and the municipalities of Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, Balamban and Asturias.
In Cebu City, Visayan Electric has restored power supply to 60 percent of the residences and businesses, though not a single barangay has been fully energized yet, according to the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC).
Lawyer Gerry Carillo, chairman of the CCDRRMC, said there are still several mountain barangays in the city that have no electricity.
Of the 80 barangays in the city, 11 barangays have already achieved up to 82 percent power restoration as of Friday, January 14. These include Banilad (82 percent), Capitol Site (70 percent), Sto. Niño (65 percent), T. Padilla (61 percent), Pit-os (59 percent), Pasil (59 percent), Labangon (58 percent), Apas (56 percent), Sambag (56 percent), Talamban (52 percent) and Tejero (51 percent).
The 25 barangays whose households still have no electricity as of Friday are Babag, Basak Pardo, Bonbon, Buot, Cogon Pardo, Pamutan, Pung-ol Sibugay, Sinsin, Sudlon-I, Sudlon-II, Tabunan, Tagba-o, Toong, Adlaon, Agsungot, Budlaan, Cambinocot, Guba, Lusaran, Mabini, Malubog, Paril, San Jose, Sirao and Taptap.
The other barangays have four to 48 percent of the households already energized.
As for water supply, Carillo said 80 percent of Metro Cebu Water District’s customers in Cebu City already have water supply.
Carillo added that 85 percent of roads in the urban barangays have been cleared of debris, while in the upland areas, 85 percent of the roads still have fallen trees, electric posts and other debris.
He also reported that the City Government has distributed P5,000 financial assistance to a total of 7,338 residents who have already completed the requirements for the cash aid. Some 13,000 sacks of rice were also distributed to the 80 barangays. (JKV / PAC / TBT / With MKG)