Meralco: Power restored in 87% of Glenda-hit areas

MANILA, Philippines - Power has been restored in 87.25 percent of the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) as of yesterday.

Some parts of Metro Manila, mostly in the south such as Las Piñas and Parañaque, and the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal and Bulacan were still without electricity.

“We will see an improvement tomorrow,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco had set a target for a 100 percent restoration of power in its entire franchise area by 10 p.m. last Friday.

Based on Meralco’s advisory as of 1 p.m. yesterday, those still without power in Batangas account for 24.18 percent; Bulacan, .36 percent; Cavite, 27.28 percent; Laguna; 41.14 percent; Metro Manila, 2.64 percent; Quezon, 60.44 percent; and Rizal, 7.60 percent.

It said all circuit level outages in Metro Manila have been energized but the remaining 2.64 percent are still without power due to outages on isolated portions of a circuit.

Meralco said the planned one-hour rotating blackout yesterday did not push through due to low demand.

It no longer implemented a manual load dropping schedule or rotating power interruptions as of 2:30 p.m. yesterday, it added.

Customers experienced rotating blackouts of up to four to five hours on Friday and up to three hours on Thursday as a result of insufficient supply with the failure of some power plants to go online as scheduled.

The affected plants include the Lopez-owned Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo natural gas power plants in Batangas, Quezon Power’s coal plant in Quezon, and the Calaca coal-fired plant in Batangas.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) put the Luzon grid on red alert on Friday due to insufficient reserves.

Red alert

NGCP spokesperson Lilibeth Gaydowen said the Northern Luzon grid also remains on red alert, adding that rotating power outages would continue in the next few days.

Four to eight hours of blackouts were experienced in the NGCP service areas in Isabela, Cagayan, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Kalinga on Thursday and Friday.

She said the power load curtailment was necessary to distribute power to Metro Manila and Southern and Central Luzon, whose power lines were damaged by Typhoon Glenda.

Candle prices

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will meet with candle manufacturers to discuss the price and supply of candles.

“I have decided to meet with the candle sector on Monday morning,” Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba said in a text message yesterday.

He said DTI teams would also closely monitor the price and supply of candles, even in areas where no price freeze is being implemented. The price freeze, which was implemented in areas placed under a state of calamity due to the typhoon, covers candles.

Muntinlupa City, Obando town in Bulacan and the provinces of Bataan, Laguna, Cavite, Quezon, Albay and Camarines Sur were placed under a state of calamity due to Glenda.

“We will check prices and supply of candles. We have SRP (suggested retail price) for candles and we shall use that price for monitoring purposes,” said Dimagiba.

The SRP for a 20-piece pack of white Liwanag Esperma #3 is P43.75, and P60.75 for #5.The prescribed price for a four-piece pack of white #16 is P31.75, P51.75 for #18, and P122.75 for a two-piece pack of #24.

The recommended price for the six-piece pack of white or yellow Manila Wax Votive #1 is P69.75, P59.75 for #2, and P49.75 for #3.

For the 10-piece pack of white Manila Wax Esperma #2, the recommended price is P44.75, P54.75 for the 20-piece pack of #3, and P39.75 for a 20-piece pack of #4.

The prescribed price for the four-piece pack of white Manila Wax Esperma #14 is P44.75, and P49.75 for the two-piece pack of #16. – With Louella Desiderio, Paolo Romero, Raymund Catindig, Ed Amoroso