The Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) recorded 35 “isolated” power interruptions in its franchise area during Monday’s elections, all of which were “immediately addressed.”
Most of the power interruptions were caused by load-side overload problems from the customer side, according to the power giant.
“Nag-o-overload kasi may nagdala ng appliances. Yung particular areas, meron lang silang rated capacity na kaya, na ‘pag dinagdag mo, malamang sa hindi magko-cause ng overloading and consequently interruptions,” Zaldarriaga said, adding that their ground team kept an eye on certain areas to immediately address power problems.
Some of the power interruptions were caused by problems with MERALCO’s facilities, but Zaldarriaga also said they were addressed immediately.
“Bagama’t nagakroon ng mga insidente ng pagkawala ng kuryente, saglit lang po ito at tuluy-tuloy naman ang elections sa naturang lugar, di naman na-disrupt,” he said.
Among the areas in Metro Manila affected by the isolated interruptions were Sta. Ana, Sta Mesa, San Nicolas, and Tondo in Manila; Gen T. De Leon and Paso de Blas in Valenzuela City; San Bartolome and Batasan Hills in Quezon City; Talon in Las Pinas City; Caloocan City and Malabon City.
Polling centers in Baliwag, Hagonoy, and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan; as well as Antipolo City, Cainta, and Taytay in Rizal also encountered power interruptions.
In the south, Batangas City; Cabuyao City, Laguna; Lucena City and Tiaong in Quezon Province; as well as Amedeo, Cavite City, Imus City, and Naic in Cavite experienced isolated power interruptions during the elections.
In other developments, MERALCO’s power rates for May went down by Php0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is equivalent to a total bill decrease of Php24 for residential customers consuming 200 kWh monthly.
The reduction in the overall rate was caused by the Php7.76 billion refund ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission.