More than half a million customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are experiencing power interruptions as of this evening due to the onslaught of Typhoon Carina. 

Based on a preliminary report, 640,000 customers as of 6 p.m. were affected by service interruptions mostly in Metro Manila, and in Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal, with additional disruptions reported in parts of Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon provinces.

Meralco said the outages were due to severe flooding across its service areas due to heavy downpours. The power distributor is working round-the-clock to immediately restore electricity service in the affected areas.

“As we highly prioritize the safety of our customers and Meralco line crew, we ask for more understanding and patience from our customers currently experiencing no power service due to heavy floods.

Rest assured that our crews will be deployed immediately to restore power service in the affected areas once floods subside,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said in a text message. 

In a separate report, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that all power lines as of 8:00 p.m. are under normal operations.