THE Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (Cera) on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, called for stronger long-term power resilience measures in Cebu as parts of Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova continued to grapple with prolonged power outages following the wrath of typhoon Tino that hit Cebu on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
In a statement, Cera urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Mactan Electric Company (Meco) and other utilities such as Visayan Electric Co. (Visayan Electric) to fast-track underground cabling projects, construct redundant substations and deploy advanced monitoring systems to enhance grid reliability and speed up fault detection.
“The ongoing situation underscores the urgent need for Cebu to invest in a more resilient power infrastructure,” said Cera convenor Nathaniel Chua. “Reliability is directly correlated to livelihood, health and public safety. Every hour of blackout is an hour where consumers’ rights are compromised.”
The group also expressed deep disappointment over what it described as Meco’s “slow and inconsistent” restoration efforts, saying businesses and residents in affected areas have been struggling for days without electricity. The outages have disrupted operations, halted essential services and caused mounting economic losses.
Cera urged Meco to mobilize all available resources to restore power, prioritizing essential facilities such as hospitals, water pumping stations, evacuation centers and communication hubs. The group also pressed for tighter coordination between utilities, local governments and law enforcement to safeguard power lines and prevent theft of materials, which has reportedly slowed repair work.
“Cebu is currently in a state of depression,” Chua said. “But we cannot afford to stay still and allow our circumstances to drown us further. We must recover what we can and prepare for future disasters — and our power distributors must do their part as well.”
Cera emphasized that stronger coordination and infrastructure investment are key to ensuring faster recovery and greater disaster resilience as climate-related disruptions become more frequent and severe. / KOC