2.4 million Meralco customers hit by power outages

MANILA, Philippines — Severe Tropical Storm Paeng caused power interruptions in the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) yesterday and affected 2.24 million customers.

As of 3 p.m. yesterday, 626,343 customers were without power in parts of Laguna, Quezon, Batangas, Cavite, Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan and Pampanga.

“We ask for our customers’ patience and understanding since we could not give a definite time on when service will be restored. For safety reasons, we have to wait until the strong winds and heavy rainfall subside before restoration activities in some areas resume,” Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.

“Rest assured that we are closely monitoring the situation and our ground personnel and line crews are working round the clock to restore power the soonest possible time,” he said.

As of 1 p.m. yesterday, the National Electrification Administration said areas being serviced by 29 electric cooperatives were hit by power outages.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said 11 69-kiloVolt (kV) lines in northern and southern Luzon and the Visayas were still not available as of 4 p.m. yesterday.

The NGCP said a 230-kV and two 138-kV lines were also unavailable.

Line crews were deployed to inspect and assess the impact of the severe tropical storm on its operations and facilities.