CANE POINTS: Power Is Life! (almost)

Typhoons Tino, Uwan and Verbena. In a span of one month, these three weather disturbances pummeled Negros, with some parts of the island bearing the brunt of their fury while some parts were mercifully spared.

Last November 4, Tino’s Signal #4 winds plunged the entire coverage area of Negros Power in total darkness. There was no electricity in the cities of Silay, Talisay, Bacolod and Bago and in the towns of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto since the morning of that day.

Consumers who reside in areas less damaged by the typhoon were fortunate to have their electric power restored in two to three days. For other consumers, Uwan entered the picture and further hampered power restoration efforts.

Negros Power spared no effort, in terms of time (12-hour shifts, day and night), manpower (more than 300 per shift, reinforced by teams from its sister companies in Iloilo, Tagbilaran and Cagayan de Oro Cities) and materials (limitless), to expedite power restoration. Still, it didn’t seem fast enough for consumers residing in heavily damaged and far-flung areas.

By November 21 (or 17 days after Tino), Negros Power has restored electric service to the entire 60 kms-long 69kV sub-transmission lines and to all of its eleven substations.

In Bacolod City, all of its 48 feeders and its hundreds of secondary lines have already been energized. In the consumer level, 99.48% of Bacolod City’s 157,646 consumers has already been re-energized, with only 0.52% (812 consumers) still unenergized.

In Negros Power’s entire coverage area, 96.50% of consumers has been re-energized, with 3.50% pending power restoration, as of November 21.

By November 27, or 23 days after Tino, all lateral lines have been re-energized, allowing nearly 250,000 Negros Power consumers to resume their normal lives.

When Negrenses look back to the dark days after Tino, they couldn’t help realizing how completely different, or even depressing, life was without electricity.

Remember the panic when your phone’s battery power was already alarmingly low and there’s nowhere to charge it? And, after you find a friendly neighbor who allowed you to charge from solar power, you found out that you could hardly make a call or surf the web because the telco’s signals were sporadic and weak to non-existent?

Remember the frustration when you turned on the faucet and only a gurgling or hissing sound comes out? Or when only tea-colored water comes out when you turn the tap to wash the dishes?

Without power, phones and other devices are useless. Without power, the telco’s towers are useless. Without power, the water utility’s pipelines are useless. And without a means of communication and source of clean water, people felt helpless and hopeless.

No natural disaster in recent history has wreaked such intense, widespread devastation to Negros as Tino did. No natural disaster in recent history has claimed numerous casualties among Negrenses. No natural disaster in recent history has caused so much trauma to this vast number of people.

The scale of the damage to infrastructure and the sickeningly high number of fatalities slowly came to light only after power was restored, giving way for the opening of communication links. Power restoration allowed Negrenses to get back on their feet and resume their daily lives.

Then came Verbena with its brought unexpected and unimaginable floods to areas of Bacolod City which were flood-free prior to the implementation of these scandalous flood control projects.

As the water crept menacingly towards houses and buildings along and near waterways, residents called out for Negros Power to cut off power supply to the affected areas.

Quite ironic that some consumers cursed Negros Power for what they perceived as slow power restoration efforts after Tino, but now that their power was already restored when Verbena visited, they’re asking Negros Power to cut off their electric service for fear of electrocution when the flood reaches their homes.

Power is life. It powers our devices, our appliances, our communications infrastructure and our water utilities. Of course, living without electric service is possible, but not so desirable because of the countless inconveniences it brings.
On the other hand, accidental contact with electric power can cause serious physical harm, or even result in death.

As the three weather disturbances have demonstrated, electric service is indispensable to maintain our quality of life. After Tino and Uwan, Negros Power delivered the quickest possible power restoration measures. During Verbena, Negros Power was there to immediately cut off power and ensure that nobody gets accidentally electrocuted.

As the three weather disturbances have demonstrated, Negros Power knows it job, and performs its job extraordinarily well. Trust them to do their job in the best way they can.* (BB)