Meralco: Over 197,000 customers affected due to 'Uwan'

MANILA, Philippines — The electricity of more than 197,000 individuals has been affected due to the onslaught of Super Typhoon "Uwan" (international name: Fung Wong), according to electricity concessionaire Manila Electric Company (Meralco).  

As of 10 a.m. on Monday, November 10, Meralco said that 197,133 customers in its franchise areas have no electricity due to the effects of the super typhoon. 

“The outages were predominantly because of damaged distribution facilities, particularly poles and our lines, and transformers,” Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco’s Head of Communications, said in a press briefing. 

“This was caused by strong winds and heavy rains across our service area. The wind was quite strong that hit our franchise area, particularly the southern portion,” he added. 

The current number was lower than the 408,611 affected customers as of 12 a.m. on Monday.

Of the total number of affected individuals, Meralco said 10,000 individuals are in areas that experience flooding. 

The following are the number of affected individuals in Meralco’s franchise area as of 10 a.m.:

• Metro Manila - 23,267
• Cavite - 75,885
• Bulacan - 34,815
• Quezon - 26,283
• Rizal - 19,203
• Laguna - 11,473
• Batangas - 6,206

Asked when the expected restoration of the services would be, Zaldarriaga said that the electricity concessionaire is “looking at the next two days.”

As of 11 a.m., Uwan is estimated to be at 135 kilometers west northwest of Bacnotan, La Union.

It has maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center with gusts of up to 160 kph, and a central pressure of 970 hectopascals. Uwan is also moving west-northwest at 20 kph.