A YEAR after Typhoon Odette (Rai) pummeled Cebu Province last Dec. 16, 2021, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and the Visayan Electric Company have completely returned to normal operations.

This after the devastating typhoon damaged the electrical and water supplies under the franchise areas of the two utilities.

Jose Daluz III, chairman of the board of directors of the MCWD, recounted that the firm’s water supply, which relies on electricity, had been reduced from 100 percent to only 16 percent after Typhoon Odette.

Operations went back to normal three months after the typhoon when MCWD’s 138 water wells became operational as power supply was partially restored, according to Daluz.

Power restoration

Quennie Bronce, reputation enhancement manager of Visayan Electric, said they were able to restore 99.9 percent of electricity as of March 31, 2022 after replacing damaged equipment, such as 3,225 posts, 373 distribution transformers, 52,281-meter wire cables and 2,301 meters, accessories, switches and line hardware.

Visayan Electric subscribers increased from 477,732 in 2021 to 485,619 this year, and demand for power rose from 520.8 megawatts in 2021 to 543.2 megawatts as of November 2022.

The MCWD, for its part, increased their water supply by 20 milliliters per day after JE Hydro and Bio-Energy Corp. launched the Lusaran Bulk Water Supply project last Dec. 8.

The water company has a supply of 240,000 cubic meters per day and this will increase to 260,000 cubic meters once water connections will be installed in households in barangays Busay, Apas Lahug, Camputhaw and neighboring areas. (TPT)