90,000 suffer from power outages

AROUND 90,000 customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) are affected by power outages as of 2 p.m. brought by heavy rains caused by southwest monsoon.

In a statement on Tuesday, Meralco said that the number has been reduced from over 167,000 affected, as of 7 a.m.

Most of the affected customers reside in Metro Manila, Cavite, and Bulacan, while the rest are in Rizal, Quezon, Laguna, and Batangas. Around 86% of affected customers are in flooded areas, Meralco said.

“We continue to actively monitor the weather situation in light of persisting rains in parts of our franchise area. We ask our customers for patience and understanding as we have to prioritize safety during the conduct of power restoration activities,” Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco said that its crews are working round-the-clock to restore power service as soon as it is safe to do so.

Meanwhile, in its energy situation report, the Department of Energy said that restorations are ongoing with two electric cooperatives in the Cordillera Administrative Region: Benguet Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Abra Electric Cooperative, Inc. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera