MALACAÑANG on Friday assured the public that there will be no power interruptions a week before and after the May 9 elections amid thinning power reserves nationwide as demand soars because of the El Niño-induced dry spell.
“The objective of the [Department of Energy] is zero disruption one week before and one week after May 9. That is the ideal situation [we want] to achieve,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
This as vice presidential aspirant Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed suspicion that the recent power outages during his campaign sorties may not be pure coincidence but maybe related to the efforts of some groups to derail his vice presidential bid.
Coloma said the zero power disruption of the DoE is being aimed so that there would be no delay or other problems during the May 9 polls.
“This is so not to have any delay or problems during elections,” Coloma said.
Coloma’s statement was made amid the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines placed Mindanao and Luzon on red alert, which signifies that the electricity supply could not cope with the demand.
Coloma said the high demand for electricity was due to a combination of rising heat index—which reached a record-breaking 52.3°C in Cabanatuan City on Tuesday—and the maintenance shutdowns of power plants.
Coloma said the DoE is closely monitoring the maintenance works to prevent a forced outage in the crucial period before the presidential elections.
“The government is continuing to have talks with power players to address the situation. Another source of trouble is the bombing of transmission towers,” Coloma said.
Malacañang appealed to the public to lessen their power consumption.
“When the weather is cool and not so hot, maybe the public can lessen the use of appliances and do other conservation measures,” said Coloma.