By NG Seruela
The Department of Energy (DOE) assured the preservation of the COVID-19 vaccines in storage facilities in case of a thin power supply.
In a Laging Handa public briefing, DOE Undersecretary Felix Fuentebella said that they are coordinating with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) in creating the “triple backup system.”
He explained that the backup number one is the ancillary services from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
“Backup number one, ancillary services from NGCP. So iyon ay sabi ng NGCP, tutupad na sila sa kanilang obligasyon.”
Secondly, he said the backup number two is to use the generators of the distribution utilities on the vaccine storage.
“Backup number 2 ay iyong distribution utilities, dapat alam ng Meralco or ng electric cooperatives kung nasaan iyong mga bakuna dahil kung nagkakaroon ng aberya, bagyo man iyan, eh dapat ito iyong mas protektado iyong second back up iyon ‘no. So kung may genset ang DU puwedeng i-provide doon sa grupong iyon.”
The third backup system is to place backup generators on the vaccine storage facilities.
“Pangatlo, ay iyong mismong saan iyong facility, saan iyong bakuna ay nandoon din dapat iyong mga back up genset at ito po ay binigay na nating abiso sa ating mga kaibigan sa iba’t ibang ahensiya simula pa lamang noong taon,” he said.
However, Usec. Fuentebella announced that the power demand is decreasing as the rainy season approaches. He said that since the weather is cold, less electricity is being used in households.
“Well, the improvement is coming from the demand side. Ibig sabihin, lumalamig ang panahon, so, bumaba iyong paggamit natin ng kuryente.” -rir
