With the onset of the rainy season in the Philippines, Filipinos are once again advised to be on alert and take precautionary measures against floods and rain-induced landslides.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), there is high chance that the La Niña phenomenon, which is commonly linked with above-normal rainfall, will begin in the last quarter of the year or around September — a bit delayed than the earlier forecast of July — and could last until the first quarter of 2025.

Tropical cyclones also usually form in the country’s waters during the rainy season, with around 70 percent developing from July through October according to PAGASA. On average, around 20 tropical storms enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year, with around eight to nine crossing the country.

With the prevailing climate conditions, various organizations and industries have ramped up preparations for the rainy season including the Manila Electric Company (Meralco)—the country’s largest distribution utility.

UPGRADING AND MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

Meralco has accelerated its upgrading and maintenance activities to strengthen and improve the resiliency of its electrical facilities to manage the impact storms that could hit the country throughout the rainy season.

Just recently, Meralco conducted proactive maintenance activities in the cities of Pasay and Marikina as part of its efforts to reinforce the resiliency and reliability of its distribution network.

Meralco crews conducted load-splitting operations and inspected its facilities in Hidalgo Street, Pasay City to enhance the service quality and reliability in the area. In the same operation, Meralco also replaced dilapidated wires that caused wire sparking. Low hanging cables were also corrected to prevent illegal connections and to ensure public safety. Meanwhile, in Marikina City, Meralco upgraded transformers in SSS Village, Concepcion II to improve the efficiency, reliability, and safety of the power system.

“With the start of the rainy season, Meralco crews remain hard at work 24/7 to further strengthen our distribution system’s resiliency against possible severe weather disturbances and to actively contribute to the promotion of public safety,” Meralco First Vice President and Head of Networks Froilan J. Savet said.

“Meralco has been proactively conducting various maintenance activities across our franchise area to continuously improve the quality and reliability of our electricity service,” he added.

ANTI-URBAN BLIGHT CAMPAIGN

Beyond upgrading and maintenance works on its electrical facilities, Meralco recognizes the vital role it plays in promoting public safety.

This is why the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led utility is actively conducting Anti-Dangling and Unauthorized Wire Attachments Operations as part of its campaign against urban blight. The program, usually conducted in high-density areas, aims to ensure the integrity of its distribution facilities, and prevent accidents that may be caused by unauthorized wire attachments. Meralco actively coordinates and works with local government units (LGUs), various government agencies, and telco and cable companies for the conduct of its anti-urban blight operations.

Recently, Meralco’s program gained stronger support after the Metro Manila Council passed a resolution urging LGUs in the National Capital Region to pass ordinances that would regulate the installation of telecommunication and electric wires in a bid to address dangling cables or “spaghetti” wires.

It has been found that foreign attachments are one of the most common causes of pole troubles which is why Meralco has been pleading to cable and telco companies to coordinate with the distribution utility and follow the process for wire attachment application process. This is meant to protect the integrity of distribution facilities to avoid overloading and untoward incidents.

“Unauthorized wire attachments to our poles pose operational risks and endanger lives. We are appealing to telco and cable companies to secure the necessary approvals before attaching to our facilities,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

Under its anti-urban blight campaign, Meralco crews do not only remove dangling and idle wires but also correct leaning poles, and conduct maintenance works to ensure the integrity of distribution facilities.

Various operations have been conducted across the Meralco franchise area such as in the cities of Marikina, Pasig, Quezon, the municipality of Pateros, portions of Bulacan, Dasmarinas in Cavite, and Binan in Laguna with other areas in the pipeline.

“We also ask the public to help promote public safety by reporting incidents of dangling wires to authorities,” Zaldarriaga added.

Meralco actively invests in the upgrading of its distribution facilities to continuously improve the reliability and quality of the electricity service it delivers to its customers and aid in the promotion of public safety not just during the rainy season but all year-long.