Full power restoration takes days: Meralco

MANILA – It will take some days before electricity will be fully restored in areas served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) after its energy infrastructures were damaged by Typhoon Ulysses, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said Thursday.

In a television interview, Zaldarriaga said the power distribution firm incurred extensive damage due to “Ulysses”.

“We just want to manage (the) expectation,” he said, adding restoration efforts cannot be immediately activated despite the improvement in the weather and will still depend on the situation on the ground.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, a total of 1,575,687 Meralco customers were out of electricity. This has improved from the 3.8 million customers affected around 5 a.m.

“Our line personnel have been dispatched and continue to assess the damage on our facilities. We are slowly restoring electricity service in these areas, particularly in areas with no impending hazards like flooding,” Zaldarriaga said.

Of the total affected customers, 590,243 customers were in Metro Manila, 588,937 in Bulacan, 224,988 in Cavite, 152,033 in Rizal, 16,964 in Laguna, 2,485 in Quezon, and 37 in Batangas.

“We would like to ask for everyone’s understanding and patience, as we also have to consider the safety of our personnel, equipment and especially that of our customers.

But rest assured, our crews will immediately work to restore electricity service as long as the conditions permit,” Zaldarriaga added.