CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela – A total of 10 teams of linemen from rural electric cooperatives in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were among those deployed on Wednesday for the Task Force: Tulong Kapatid project to help restore electric power in typhoon-ravaged provinces in Luzon.
David Solomon Siquian, Isabela Electric Cooperative II general manager, told the Philippine News Agency that the groups of electric cooperatives (ECs) have been tasked by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) in coordination with the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and One EC Network Foundation, to deploy linemen to provinces affected by Typhoons Quinta and Rolly.
Ten teams—which have an average of seven linemen each—from Cagayan Electric Cooperative 1 (two teams), Cagayan Electric Cooperative 2 (one team), Isabela Electric Cooperative 1 (two teams), Isabela Electric Cooperative 2 (two teams), Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative (one team), Quirino Electric Cooperative (one team) and joint Kalinga Electric Cooperative/Ifugao Electric Cooperative (one team) have been deployed, a Philreca report said.
Linemen teams were sent to the Bicol Region, Oriental, and Occidental Mindoro and Marinduque, which are among the areas that were severely affected by the typhoons, Siquian said.
“All member-electric cooperatives were enjoined by Philreca through their Regional Task Force commanders to reactivate the task force team with safety officers for deployment prior to the jump-off,” he added.
Siquian said other regions aside from those in Northern Luzon have also deployed teams to help the typhoon-ravaged provinces.
Task Force Kapatid was launched in 2002 as a volunteer service by rural cooperatives which “group together to mobilize their personnel and logistics to assist other ECs needing immediate rehabilitation of distribution lines in times of calamities in order to speedily restore power service to member-consumer-owners and alleviate the plight of the rural folks.” **By Villamor Visaya, Jr., PNA
