Utilities declare state of emergency

The Federation of Rural Electric Cooperatives (Frecor) in Eastern Visayas region has declared a state of emergency to allow its members to find other options, such as procurement of mobile/modular generator sets, to restore power supply in quake-hit Leyte as well as in Samar and Biliran islands.

Allan Laniba, general manager of Leyte III Electric Cooperative (Leyeco III), confirmed Frecor’s declaration Wednesday. The federation is composed of 11 electric cooperatives that serve around 600,000 member-consumers in Eastern Visayas.

Majority of Leyte and the islands of Samar, Bohol and Biliran remain isolated from the Visayas power grid as of Wednesday, almost a week after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Leyte and damaged power generation and transmission facilities.

In a statement, the federation demanded that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) provide ancillary power supply by sending to Eastern Visayas power barges from Cebu and Iloilo.

Laniba said the federation issued the declaration after a meeting with NGCP representatives Tuesday in Leyte revealed that even if power supply from Cebu becomes available, Eastern Visayas would still be without electricity because transmission facilities in Ormoc were damaged by the July 6 earthquake.

Laniba said NGCP representatives assured that “they have solutions, but they could not give a timeline.”

Crescente Lopena, Technical Services Department manager of Leyeco V, said only the towns of Leyte, Calubian, San Isidro, Tabango and Villaba as well as parts of Palompon, Kananga and Matag-ob are benefiting from the power supply that Cebu has been transmitting through the Tabango submarine cable. Ormoc City and the towns of Albuera, Merida and Isabel are not getting any power supply from the Visayas grid.