MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) has ordered the prioritization of power restoration and maintenance activities in critical areas such as hospitals and evacuation centers as Tropical Depression Dante intensifies rains brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat).
During the meeting of the inter-agency Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) Tuesday afternoon, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin directed the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to help ensure power supply, especially in four hospitals identified as vulnerable to severe flooding.
These hospitals were identified as the San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital in Malabon, Tondo Medical Center in Manila, Valenzuela Medical Center, and Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center in Marikina, the DOE said in news release Tuesday night.
DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) was also ordered to coordinate with Meralco “to conduct site inspections of the four high-risk hospitals and provide technical assistance to improve their flood-related electrical resiliency.”
Meralco was also tasked to help provide necessary power supply to the Roman Tantiongco Memorial Elementary School in Sitio Wawa, Barangay San Juan in Morong, Rizal, which is now being used as an evacuation center and needs a generator set.
To ensure sufficient fuel supply in Metro Manila, the Toll Regulatory Board was tapped to help ensure that tollways are unhampered for delivery of the needed supplies from the storage facilities in Subic in Zambales and Bataan.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) was also tapped to closely monitor and validate power status in areas affected by the weather disturbances.
“Off-grid areas were also checked and are continuously being monitored, including small communities that may face limited access to emergency services,” the press release reads.
The National Power Corporation’s (Napocor) dam operations unit was also reminded to have “proof of its compliance with existing dam spilling protocols, including but not limited to visual documentation that upholds safety thresholds.” (PNA)