Bohol in need of gensets as power supply remains cut –AFP

While the situation in Bohol is slowly going back to normal, residents are still in need of generator sets (gensets) as power services remain a problem in the province, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Sunday.

“Sa ngayon kung makikita natin ang paligid natin, medyo bumabalik naman na po paunti-unti sa normal, but of course wala pa ring kuryente dito dahil na-cut o na-isolate talaga ang Bohol Island or Bohol province in particular sa ating mga power supplies from Luzon grid at Mindanao grid,” AFP Visayas Command’s Colonel Gerry Besana said in a SuperRadyo dzBB interview.

[Bohol is gradually getting back to normal. But, there is still no electricity because the province was isolated from power supply grids in Luzon and Mindanao.] 

He noted that the AFP will meet with other agencies and the local government units to discuss how the power supply could be restored in the province.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said Wednesday that Bohol is one of the most affected areas by Typhoon Odette, causing the collapse of183 electric posts, and five transmission towers.

Authorities expect to fully restore by February 2022 the power supply in regions affected by Typhoon Odette, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

While power supply in Bohol remains out, restoration work is ongoing in Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Negros, and Caraga regions, a report cited the NGCP on Saturday.

“Dito po sa probinsya ng Bohol, particularly ‘yung northeast part, halos kalahati ng probinsya ganyan po ang tama—bagsak talaga lahat (ng poste),” Besana said.

(Here in Bohol, particularly in the northeast part, power posts were toppled in almost half of the province.)

He said that the majority of the province rely on gensets for source of electricity.

“Kahit pa sabihing band aid solution ay ito po ‘yung makakatugon talaga sa kanilang kuryente,” he said.

(Critics may say that gensets is a band aid solution, but it could immediately respond to residents' need for electricity.)

Besana said that power supply is also a problem in nearby Cebu province, where 40% of power has been restored, adding that in Cebu City only 20% has been restored.

Aside from electricity, Besana said potable water is also a top priority in Bohol.

Construction materials are also badly needed to rebuild houses destroyed by the typhoon, he added. —LBG, GMA News