P400M needed to restore damaged power lines in Masbate

THE DAMAGED energy infrastructure in Masbate caused by Typhoon Opong will cost around P400 million to be restored, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Monday.

“We are moving with urgency, but also with care. Safety remains our top priority for both workers on the ground and the public,” Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ms. Garin, along with Undersecretary Mario C. Marasigan, National Electrification Administration Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda, National Power Corporation President Jericho Jonas B. Nograles, and other NEA officials visited the province to assess the hardest-hit areas where transmission lines, distribution facilities, and generation assets that severely damaged.

Typhoon Opong, which recently battered the Bicol Region, caused widespread damage to energy infrastructure, resulting in power interruptions in many parts of Masbate. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera