Power restored to 99% of customers—Meralco

A young Filipino boy stretches his leg as he rides a pedicab to avoid floodwaters in suburban Malabon, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday July 30, 2012. The heavy rains and strong winds brought about by storm Gener cut off the power supply of approximately 2 million customers of power distributor Manila Electric Co. starting Sunday night. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA

MANILA, Philippines—The heavy rains and strong winds brought about by storm Gener cut off the power supply of approximately 2 million customers of power distributor Manila Electric Co. starting Sunday night.

Based on its update, the company was able to immediately restore power in affected areas namely Balintawak in Quezon City, Plaridel in Bulacan, portions of Valenzuela, Alabang in Muntinlupa City, Manila, Rizal, Pasig, Cavite and Laguna.

As of 12 noon on Monday, only 38,257 affected customers, equivalent to less than 1 percent of Meralco’s over 5 million customers, remained without power.

“What remains to be energized at the moment are circuits which have been badly hit or the restoration of which is made more difficult by obstructions like debris. These include felled trees, tree branches and tarpaulins that caused damage to Meralco’s overhead facilities such as electric posts and lines,” Meralco explained in its update.

The utility firm, however, assured that its personnel are out in the field doing the necessary restoration work to be able to bring back power to affected customers at the soonest possible time.

In a separate phone interview, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said the company has been working to fully restore power by Tuesday.

Affected customers are advised to contact the company’s call center (16211) for queries regarding the status of restoration work in their respective areas, or obtain updates from Meralco’s website (www.meralco.com.ph), Twitter account (www.twitter.com/meralco), and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/meralco).