VECO Ready for Elections

May 12, 2016

VECO Ready for Elections

Copy of VECO_CCPO04The Visayan Electric Company (VECO) and the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) have already devised a power contingency plan for the coming elections.We are ready for the coming elections this May. The supply of electricity in Cebu City, Mandaue City and all our franchise areas are assured,” Atty. Jill Owlette Verallo, VECO Reputation Enhancement Head, announced.VECO is currently taking proactive measures to ensure the voting public that their votes will be read by the machines and lights will not go out on Election Day. Massive electricity line-clearing operations and kite removal have been going on for a while now. Crews equipped with thermal scanners have also been checking major electricity lines for any wear and tear. The integrity of wiring especially in polling precincts are being checked and Mobile 5-kW Generators are on standby.Meanwhile, on their end, Acting Cebu City Police Director PSSupt. Benjamin Santos said that they already have a deployment plan with regards to power. “A police personnel will be assigned to power stations and vital installations to serve not only as added security but also as contact person in emergency cases,” he said.Early this week, he and all police station chiefs in Cebu City had a tour of the VECO facilities in Banilad.Police assistance for mobile VECO crews in strategic locations during Election Day is being arranged. For major accidents like big trucks dragging electricity lines, crews will be placed on standby in strategic field locations to immediately address whatever problems in electricity.More than a hundred VECO personnel will be working both in their headquarters and on field as part of the Election Contingency Team to facilitate fast restoration of power in case of electricity trip-offs and accidental blackouts during elections. This includes mobile crews, emergency dispatchers and call takers, among others.We will have no planned activities in our substations or any major lines starting two weeks before the elections,” VECO Systems Operations head Juan Miguel Exaltacion said.

For minor electricity problems, VECO assures that they can restore the current flow within a minute since their entire system is digitally controlled remotely.NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) assured us that there will more or less 500 megawatts of reserved power for the elections,” Exaltacion said. This promises the public that there will be no blackouts.VECO is the second largest electric utility in the Philippines. It serves the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and four municipalities of the greater part of Metro Cebu - Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

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