Photo credit: NEA Facebook page

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) have expanded nationwide deployment of Task Force Kapatid (TFK) line crews as eight electric cooperatives (ECs) remain under total power interruption after Super Typhoon Uwan.

NEA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department reported as of Tuesday morning that NUVELCO (Nueva Vizcaya), QUIRELCO (Quirino), IFELCO (Ifugao), MOPRECO (Mountain Province), CANORECO (Camarines Norte), and CASURECO I, III and IV (Camarines Sur) have yet to restore electricity. About 3.39 million households are still awaiting reconnection.

Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda and PHILRECA General Manager Janeene Depay-Colingan met virtually with EC regional leaders on Monday to finalize post-disaster recovery measures following the impact of Uwan and the earlier Typhoon Tino.

In an interview with NET25, Almeda said ongoing restoration efforts are drawing additional manpower from unhit regions. “At present, NEA is organizing the Task Force Kapatid… We are already importing linemen from the co-ops in Mindanao to augment the restoration process… It’s just a bit overwhelming because we have not yet fully recovered from Typhoon Tino.”

PHILRECA said 32 teams composed of engineers, lineworkers, and clearing crews from eight storm-spared regions have committed to support recovery work in Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and Catanduanes. Earlier, 60 lineworkers from Western, Central and Eastern Visayas were deployed to help rehabilitate facilities in Negros Island, Camotes Island in Cebu, and Leyte, which suffered heavy damage from Typhoon Tino.

Almeda said the mobilization aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to expedite measures that ease the burden on affected communities. “Rest assured that the whole energy sector is in close coordination with all the agencies,” he said, noting an “all hands on deck” approach across the rural electrification sector.

NEA-DRRMD said it is monitoring 60 ECs across 39 provinces in Uwan’s aftermath. Forty-three ECs are still experiencing partial outages, while nine have returned to normal operations.

Stakeholders may share insights on restoration timelines, grid resilience, and policy gaps highlighted by these back-to-back storms.

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