The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Thursday assured its consumers that it would address the recent successive brownouts that occurred in many areas of Metro Manila.
Interviewed during Dos Por Dos, Meralco Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga stressed that localized power interruptions were due to overloading and extreme heat.
"Humihingi kami ng pag-unawa, kasama ang commitment na ia-address namin ang surges na ito. From 200 plus a day, umaabot na tayo sa more than 700,"
"Humihingi ako ng pag-unawa sa mga taga Ugong [Valenzuela]. Ang ginagawa kasi namin ngayon is based on repair protocol; inuuna namin ang mga critical areas at maraming tao," he furthered.
Zaldarriaga said overloading occurs due to the massive use of cooling devices and illegal connections.
"Kakaiba ito, more than a half or double yung load. 'Yung mga aircon kung dati isa lang ang binubuksan, ngayon wala nang patayan," said Zaldarriaga.
"Yung makina ng appliances, double time din mag-trabaho. Hindi nakakapag-reach ng desired cooling level. Nag-add up na lahat ng sitwasyon natin ngayon," he added.
Setting aside the causes, Zaldarriaga said they are addressing the problem and making ways to prevent interruptions in the following days.
"Hopefully 'pag tapos na ang krisis sa temperatura, ia-assess namin 'yan. Makikita natin sa areas na kailangan nang palitan... We will defer to the wisdom of government, alam naman nila 'yung nararapat. Susunod naman kami sa ikabubuti ng customers natin," he noted.
The Meralco spokesperson hopes to end the country's temperature crisis as they will assess transformers in many areas and identify which should be replaced.
It can be recalled that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has been raising alerts over the country's power grids for three weeks now amid thin power reserves.
The Department of Energy (DOE), meanwhile, admitted last week that the power situation has reached a crisis level.
