QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- Consistent with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure the availability of reliable energy in various regions of the country, the Department of Energy has been preparing for the implementation of viable electrification programs that will address issues faced by the energy sector.
The DOE's programs include Total Electrification Project, Renewable Energy Development Program, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program, and Alternative Fuels and Technologies Program.
Through the TEP and with an allocation of P500 million, the DOE will energize around 10,000 households nationwide and address the need for reliable power supply of remaining underserved and unserved Filipino households with no access to electricity.
The DOE will also continue the National Electrification Administration’s Sitio Electrification Project amounting to 1.6 billion which will energize 1,085 sitios while the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program will be allocated P252 million to provide affordable energy to industries.
As this develops, the DOE continues to rehabilitate power lines toppled by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng in various provinces across the country.
During the Laging Handa Public Briefing on Monday, November 7, Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan said Paeng practically affected nearly the whole Philippines.
According to Marasigan, 'Paeng' affected 96 electric cooperatives across 13 regions and 56 provinces across the region, including most of Luzon and areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Out of the affected cooperatives, some 9.482 million households or 99.45% of the total affected already have normal operations. Partial assessments estimate power facility damage at P109.396 million.
The areas that continue to experience power interruptions include those which were still reeling from the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Abra last month, and Typhoon Odette which hit the country late last year. Southern Leyte, for example, is still reeling from Odette’s wrath yet its power facilities were damaged anew with the passage of Paeng, Marasigan added.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also reported on Monday that power supply has been restored in 256 cities and municipalities particularly: Regions Ilocos (23), Cagayan Valley (3), Central Luzon (39), Calabarzon (76), Mimaropa (45), Bicol (2), Western Visayas (4), Central Visayas (5), Eastern Visayas (29), SOCCSKSARGEN (2) and 1 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). (LP - PIA PMD)
