Cusi orders NEA to take over sluggish Camsur power restoration

DOE Sec. Alfonso Cusi LYN RILLON/Philippine Daily Inquirer

Despite having already restored electricity to 92 percent of households affected by recent typhoons, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi reminded the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the involved electric cooperatives to complete restoration of power facilities as soon as possible.

He made the statement on Friday upon learning about the latest report of Camarines Sur III Electric Cooperative’s (Casureco III) slow movement in its restoration efforts.

“We cannot accept Casureco III’s restoration status at only 34 percent following all of the combined efforts of the government and the private sector for restoring damage brought by Typhoon Nina,” Cusi said.

The Energy chief underscored the need “to determine the root cause of the delay in restoration” and ordered the NEA through Administrator Ed Masongsong to take over the restoration efforts in Casureco III covering Camarines Sur’s Rinconada area.

During a recent coordination meeting with the DOE, Masongsong committed to create Task Force Rinconada to take over the restoration efforts in the Casureco III service area.

Cusi relayed that Masongsong already recalled the project manager and informed the board of Casureco III of the NEA takeover which will be implemented this February.

Other areas that Cusi wanted to focus on were the hard-hit provinces of Catanduanes and Marinduque under the franchises of First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative (Ficelco) and Marinduque Electric Cooperative (Marelco), respectively.

Cusi orderd an assessment on how the Energy department and its partner institutions in the power sector can assist these off-grid areas considering the difficulty on accessibility and logistics to the said areas.

“Some island provinces like Catanduanes and Marinduque are not connected to the three main grids (of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) and restoration efforts might entail a different kind of approach,” he said.

In December of last year, Cusi gave all power sector participants a Jan. 31 deadline for all the restoration of Typhoon Nina-induced damage to electrical facilities.

At the same time, Cusi thanked Task Force Kapatid members, specifically the volunteer linemen and engineers, who assisted the victims of the typhoon even during the holidays to restore power to affected households.

“The DOE and the energy family is strongly committed to complete energy restoration to help the victims of the recent calamities,” he said. JE