As part of the advocacy of the One EC-MCO Movement, Electric Cooperatives (ECs) nationwide responded to the call of PHILRECA, NEA, and One EC Network Foundation to send line workers and assist in the power restoration efforts of other ECs in Tisoy- and Ursula-hit areas.
Two of the most severe typhoons of the year 2019, Typhoon Tisoy (International Name: Kammuri) and Typhoon Ursula (International Name: Phanfone), happened one after the other in December, with only a couple of weeks away from each other. Tisoy struck Southern Luzon and parts of Visayas, leaving at least 9 people dead and almost a billion pesos in agricultural damages. The storm inevitably caused electric outages in 226 areas in Regions 4-B, 5, and 8. Right before Christmas, Ursula unleashed its intensity in some parts of Luzon and Visayas. Per National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reports, more than 428,000 houses were affected, with 106,772 totally damaged. The typhoon also claimed the lives of at least 50 people. As far as electric distribution is concerned, distribution and transmission lines were severely affected as well, causing power outages in affected areas. Initial assessment shows that the combined damage of Tisoy and Ursula to ECs costs more than P1.5 billion.
To ensure faster restoration and repair of damaged infrastructures, the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) and the One EC Network Foundation – in close coordination with the National Electrification Administration – spearheaded the creation and immediate deployment of Power Restoration Rapid Deployment Task Force (PRRD-TF) for Typhoon Tisoy and Typhoon Ursula immediately after each typhoon. These task forces were deployed as early as December 7 and December 26, respectively.
ECs all over the country sent a total of 904 line workers to attend to the damages caused by Typhoons Tisoy and Ursula in affected ECs. They assisted in rebuilding and repair of damaged infrastructure thereby fast-tracking the restoration of electricity in the area. Since their deployment, these task forces, together with the line workers from the affected ECs themselves, have jointly restored electricity to 508,614 households (95.59%) in Tisoy-affected areas, and 1,173,660 households (93.02%) in Ursula-affected areas. As of January 14, 103 line workers from TF: Tisoy and 515 line workers from TF: Ursula are still assisting ECs on the ground to meet the full restoration target.
Because the two typhoons happened during the Christmas Season, Warriors of Light had to leave their own families and sacrifice their holidays to help in the power restoration. Eager to complete the restoration the soonest possible time, line workers worked day and night 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But despite these efforts and sacrifices, some affected areas experienced slower restoration compared to others due to uncontrollable constraints and circumstances like unavailability of buffer stock, severe damage sustained, slow delivery of procured materials, inaccessible roads, insufficient rehabilitation funding, and even security concerns. We appeal to government officials and affected MCOs to understand the situation.
All 532,095 households in Tisoy-affected areas and most of the 1,261,760 households in Ursula-affected areas are expected to be fully restored in the next few days. The remaining households from heavily hit AKELCO and OMECO are targeted to be energized not later than January 21 and January 31, respectively.
One EC Network Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the One EC-MCO Movement, has been assisting affected EC employees and MCOs since the onslaught of the calamity through donations of medicines and other necessities. Representatives of PHILRECA, APEC, RECOBODA, and Ako Padayon Party-Lists, EC leaders, and EC officers are closely monitoring the works on the ground, with Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong joining the assessment and monitoring thru personal site visits.
PHILRECA, the One EC-MCO Movement, One EC Network Foundation, and NEA will not rest until power restoration is completed.
About PRRD-TF
The PRRD-TF or Task Force Kapatid, initially launched in 2002, is a volunteer service whereby ECs group together to mobilize their personnel and logistics to assist other ECs needing immediate rehabilitation of distribution lines in times of calamities in order to speedily restore power service to member-consumers and alleviate the plight of the rural folks.
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