Power retailer Manila Electric Company said Sunday some 160,750 customers suffered from blackout as of 2:30 p.m. amid the onslaught of Typhoon 'Rolly', which is considered the world's strongest this year.
The affected areas are mostly portions of Quezon and Laguna, Meralco said.
Affected areas in Quezon included portions of Tayabas, Pagbilao, Lucena City and Candelaria while affected parts of Laguna included portions of Majayjay, San Pablo City, Victoria and Alaminos.
Meralco spokesperson and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said the company was ready to respond to any emergency.
"Our crews are on standby 24/7 to attend to any trouble that may affect our facilities in areas that might be hit by the typhoon," Zaldarriaga said.
Zaldarriagq said Meralco put in place necessary measures to mitigate the impact of the typhoon this year.
The company continues to issue advisories on the appropriate precautionary measures to take before a typhoon, he said.
“Meralco, for instance, has consistently requested billboard owners and operators to temporarily roll their billboards up to prevent these structures from being toppled by the strong winds,” Zaldarriaga said.
Billboards that fall into electrical facilities are among the reasons for power outages whenever there are strong winds.
Zaldarriaga asked the public to keep all channels of communication open and ready by charging mobile phones, laptops, radios and other communication gadgets. Customers may tune in to the different public service radio stations should power interruptions occur, he said.
He said the Meralco Call Center was ready to address customer concerns. Meralco has 7 million customers in its franchise area in Luzon.