Only 1 percent of Meralco's service area remains without power

Only one percent of Manila Electric Co.'s (Meralco) service area remains without electricity service, five days after the storm Ondoy submerged more than three-fourths of the Philippine capital.

As of two o' clock on Thursday afternoon, only six out of its total 683 distribution circuits in its entire franchise area are still offline since these are still "severely affected by the massive flooding," the company said in a statement.

Although Meralco is doing its best to bring electric service back to the said areas, it may take some time since it is still waiting for floodwaters to subside, Joe R. Zaldariagga, the company's external communications manager.

He also asked Meralco customers whose meters have been submerged in floodwater to report the matter to Meralco. They may call the Meralco hotline at 16211 or text their concerns to 09175592824 and 09209292824.

Meralco will also conduct an inspection of all electric meters within its franchise area, "a precautionary and safety measure...before [restoring] electricity back to our customers’ homes. Many of the meters in the areas heavily hit by “Ondoy" were submerged in floodwaters," Zaldarriaga added.

With the country still reeling from Ondoy’s fury, Meralco continues to extend its assistance to many communities affected by the typhoon.

It has distributed thousands of relief bags in areas such as Marikina, Cainta, Taytay, Pasig and in other flood-hit communities. It also provided generator sets and floodlights in many evacuation centers in its franchise area.