MANILA — The Department of Energy remains committed in working to achieve 100 percent power restoration in areas affected by Typhoon “Ompong”.
“The people being served can say if our (action) is fast or not. What we can say from the Energy family is that we have very dedicated personnel, especially those on the ground,” DOE spokesperson Felix William Fuentebella told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.
As of Monday evening, the agency reported that power was already restored in 86.07 percent of the affected households. Of the 2,363,504 affected households, 2,034,269 were already re-energized based on DOE’s records.
“Ompong” made a landfall in Cagayan in the morning of September 15 and left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in the evening.
Last September 22 or a week after “Ompong” left PAR, the DOE reported 79.19 percent accomplishment in power restoration. Fourteen provinces were under rehabilitation until that day.
As of September 24, the DOE said 10 provinces remain under rehabilitation. The agency has set different timelines per affected area, depending on its situation and terrain.
Fuentebella earlier said access is the main issue in power restoration.
“(There were areas) where we hit our targets fast. There were also those where we didn’t hit the timeline,” Fuentebella said. “But generally, there is good compliance, great commitment,” he added. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
