SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews / 9 May) – The electric cooperative in in Surigao del Norte assured the public there will be no power interruptions during the conduct of elections on May 13.
Danny Z. Escalante, general manager of the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative (SURNECO), told MindaNews that the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) ensured there will be reliable power during the election.
He said they also have ongoing preventive maintenance operations to prevent power failure on Monday.
Escalante said, too, they have drawn up contingency plans to make sure that there will be no interruption of power supply before, during and after the election.
Meanwhile, the manager of Siargao Electric Cooperative (SIARELCO), Sergio C. Dagooc, also assured there will be enough power supply in his area during election day.
“According to NAPOCOR, they will not curtail the power beginning May 13 until May 15,” Dagooc said.
But just in case there will be power shortage, he said they will not cut power in the schools where the precincts are. “We might interrupt power supply in residential areas, but not in schools,” Dagooc assured.
He said they have also prepared generator sets, especially in the schools, so that the flow of the election will not be affected.
According to Dagooc, Siargao has minimal power requirement of only 3 megawatts because it has no big business establishments.
Dinagat Island, he said, also doesn’t have power shortage because it has its own small power plant.