No power in Nueva Ecija, Aurora due to Karding —DOE chief

The provinces of Nueva Ecija and Aurora have no power supply amid the onslaught of Typhoon Karding, according to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla on Monday.

Lotilla made the report before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and other government officials during a situation briefing on Monday morning.

"As of 7 o'clock this morning, the main NGCP lines in the areas affected show that the entire province of Nueva Ecija and Aurora are without power because the main highways of power were down," Lotilla said, referring to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Other provinces that are partly affected when it comes to power supply are Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, and Quezon, Lotilla said.

"There is a list of specific areas or cities and municipalities that are affected by these lines that are down," Lotilla said.

As to when the power supply will be brought back in the affected areas, Lotilla said it is still being determined.

Lotilla also said the main generation plants located on the track of the typhoon were spared from Karding.

"The main generation plants which are on the path of the typhoon were spared and so we did not have any interruptions except for some problems that we encountered especially in the high roads to Casignan. I guess [it] is a difficult problem, because there was a blockade that was imposed at the gates of the dam and the spillway, it reaches critical levels and is now being addressed by the military," Lotilla said.

In response, Marcos said: "I think, at least for the power, we just have to wait, it really is a little early for us kasi more complicated ang assessment ng power network kaysa sa iba..." 

Marcos tasked government officials to ensure that enough generators with fuel will be brought to these areas.

Weather bureau PAGASA said Karding has exited the landmass and emerged over the coastal waters of Northern Zambales. Karding is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday evening.

Marcos had approved the recommendation of the NDRRMC to suspend classes in public schools and government work in the National Capital Region, Regions I, II, III, IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-B (Mimaropa), the Cordillera Administrative Region, and Region V due to Karding.  —KBK, GMA News