Aquino: Power restoration in Yolanda-hit areas ongoing

Over 6 months since Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), over a million households still await power restoration

MANILA, Philippines – Over half a year since Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) battered the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino III said the Department of Energy (DOE) continues to work on restoring power in areas affected by the November storm.

On Friday, June 27, President Benigno Aquino III said the DOE “is working for the immediate release of a portion of the calamity grant.” Restoration activities, he said, are underway.

“There has been a deployment of task force volunteers complete with their equipment, deployment of national electrification engineers to supervise and monitor the construction of distribution lines in households,” he said.

“2014 includes restoration in 341 municipalities for Yolanda-affected areas: 7,052 barangays and 1,428,636 households.”

He said there are also 33 affected electric cooperatives that are being addressed.

Aquino said the Panay electric company started a program called the Low-Load Program, which, for about P1,600, energizes housing units.

“To date, 116 out of 442 applications have already been processed and are now energized. The Low-Load Program is to fast track the provision of electricity service to those who are relocatees or households living in low-cost housing units funded by the LGU (local government units) and endorsed by the city mayor,” he said.

While all towns devastated by Yolanda have been reconnected to the grid after Christmas, not all households in the areas have been energized.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla had earlier said all households would be re-energized by March.

Yolanda struck the Visayas on November 8, 2013, killing at least 6,000 people. The super typhoon also damaged more than 1.14 million houses, according to the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council. – Rappler.com