The National Power Corp. said 19 diesel power plants/power barges in Mindoro, Romblon, Marinduque, Quezon, Aurora and Isabela were not operational yesterday because of typhoon “Tisoy.”
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) also said as of 1 p.m. yesterday, 13 power lines in Southern Luzon were not available while another five lines in Visayas were not capable of transmitting electricity because of the weather disturbance.
NGCP added 13 230kV transmission lines were unavailable, affecting transmission services in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon, but inspection and restoration of lines will be in full swing as soon as the weather allows.
Tisoy, with an international name of Kammuri, is the 20th typhoon to hit the country this year, brought winds of 130 kph and gusts of up to 200 kph, damaging some homes and structures and felling trees and signage in urban areas.
Local governments evacuated some 225,000 people ahead of the arrival overnight of the typhoon which weakened slightly and picked up speed as it moved across central parts of the archipelago.
Tisoy also prompted suspension of air travel, school and government offices in the capital, and warnings of floods, storm surges and landslides.
Federico Villar Jr., acting director of the National Electrification Administration’s (NEA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department, noted at least 29 electric cooperatives (ECs) that experienced power cuts based on NEA’s monitoring as of 9 a.m. yesterday.
From that number, 25 ECs operating in Laguna, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Leyte, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran Island and Samar had ongoing service interruptions due to bad weather.
The Department of Energy’s Oil Industry Management Bureau also conducted a Fuel Oil Reserve Inventory and found out that Bicol Region has 10 days’ worth of fuel supply, Mimaropa has 12 days of oil depot supply and Calabarzon has an excess of 100 days of supply fuel with refineries.
The National Food Authority, meanwhile, assured of quick response to emergency rice requests from local government units and relief agencies.
Judy Carol Dansal, NFA administrator, said the agency’s Operation Centers were activated as early as November 28 in typhoon-affected areas to immediately act on requests for emergency rice stocks.
Meanwhile, some 499 flights were postponed and 100,000 people were impacted by a rare precautionary closure of all four terminals at Manila’s main airport for 12 hours until 11:00 p.m. last night.
Air travel, however, continued in unaffected areas of the country.
Trading for peso and the stock market went on as scheduled.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed lower by 22.01 points to 7,855.18, a 0.28 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was also down, shedding 5.48 points to close at 4,681.20.
Gainers edged losers 90 to 88 with 53 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P4.44 billion.
The peso closed at P50.951 to the dollar, up from P51.08 on Monday. It opened at P51.08, hitting a high of P50.95 and a low of P51.135. Trading turnover reached $1.5 billion. –Ruelle Castro, Myla Iglesia, Reuters
