Power consumers to get hit after deadly typhoons

Electricity consumers are set to be hit in the wallet as the government passes on the cost of repairing power lines following four deadly typhoons, officials said yesterday.

National Transmission Corp. (Transco) president Arthur Aguilar said it would lodge within the week a notice to regulators to allow it to collect from end-users the losses incurred from restoring the typhoon-damaged system.

Aguilar said 42 steel towers were destroyed when typhoon "Paeng" hit the country in October.

Last week, typhoon "Seniang" destroyed another 116 steel towers and 887 wooden poles that link the country’s transmission lines.

On Nov. 30, typhoon "Reming" hit the country, while "Milenyo" slammed into northern Luzon and Manila in September leaving much of the capital without electricity for a week.

"We will do it in such a manner that it will not be burdensome to the consumers," Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Rodolfo Albano told reporters.

The Philippines has one of the highest electricity tariffs in Asia outside of Japan.

The deadly typhoons caused heavy damage and left more than 2,000 people dead or missing. — AFP