Rehabilitation starts for power distribution system in Palawan

The three-month rehabilitation works on the power distribution system of Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) have started.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) and PALECO formally welcomed the first batch of electric cooperatives (ECs) for Task Force Kapatid on Sunday (August 18) during a simple ceremony.

Task Force Kapatid is composed of different ECs from Luzon and the Visayas tapped by the NEA to help PALECO improve the reliability of power distribution services to all consumers in Palawan, including Puerto Princesa City.

The first batch is composed of technical teams from the Batangas I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BATELEC I), Batangas II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BATELEC II), First Laguna Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FLECO), and the Philippine Federation of Electric Cooperatives (PHILFECO). The team from PHILFECO consists of Pangasinan I Electric Cooperative (PANELCO I), Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative (PANELCO III), and Isabela II Electric Cooperative (ISELCO II).

The second batch, composed of ECs from Western Visayas, will follow next month.

The task force brought with them boom trucks and other equipment needed for the rehabilitation works, which will take three months. The rehabilitation works cover clearing activities, reconductoring, repair of distribution lines, proper coordination of protection devices, as well as relocation of poles affected by road widening projects.

In his message during the ceremony, NEA Deputy Administrator for Technical Services Artis Nikki Tortola thanked the task force for responding to NEA’s call to help their fellow EC in Palawan in addressing its power woes.

Once the rehabilitation of PALECO’s distribution system is finished, Tortola said it is expected that the occurrence of power interruptions will be reduced—a problem that has been plaguing Palawan since 2017.

Tortola reiterated that PALECO’s power reliability issues are due to a number of factors that included vegetation and lack of acceptable dispatch protocol in the generation, transmission and distribution systems.

“This is not the problem of PALECO alone. Isyu ito ng probinsiya at kailangan ng tulong ng PALECO,” the NEA Deputy Administrator said.

For his part, PALECO Project Supervisor and Acting General Manager Nelson Lalas reminded the team to always follow safety procedures to ensure that the job gets done without any untoward incident.

NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong organized and mobilized Task Force Kapatid to speed up the rehabilitation of PALECO’s power distribution system. The move is part of the NEA’s continuing efforts to help the power co-op improve the reliability of electricity service to all consumers.

PALECO is the lone power distributor of Puerto Princesa City and the Municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Brooke’s Point, Sofronio Espanola, Cuyo, Magsaysay, Quezon, Roxas, Taytay, El Nido, Araceli, San Vicente, Bataraza, Rizal, Balabac, Cagayancillo, Agutaya and Dumaran. (P.R)