Finally, there is light in Cabalitian Island, Sual
SUAL-Let there be light.
And then there was light in Cabalitian Island where a community had thrived without power throughout the decades.
The island, located about a kilometer away from Pangasinan’s mainland or a 10-minute boat ride away from the mainland, is within sight of the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant.
The power was delivered via a submarine cable made possible by a joint undertaking of the Tokyo Electric Power Company or Tepco and Marubeni Corp. (TeaM Energy), operator of the Sual power plant, Department of Energy (DoE), local government unit of Sual, and the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco).
“People are excited and they are now buying home appliances like refrigerators, television sets, among others,” said Jesusa Cera-Calaunan, TeaM Energy’s public relations officer.
The coming of electricity into the island is seen to spur economic activity as construction of a resort is now underway fronting one of the island’s white sand beach.
TeaM Energy initially provided a big generator to provide households with temporary energy supply for three hours nightly while the energization project was still under construction.
The cost of the P20 million project was shared by TeaM Energy picking up the P15 million cost of the submarine cable while the local government unit spent P3 million to supplement construction costs.
Cenpelco conceptualized and is implementing an “all-for-one, one-for-all” scheme for the island residents wherein all residents understand that each household must pay regularly lest they lose the power supply delivered to the island.
The project, originally submitted to DoE, could not be undertaken by the provincial government since the maximum allocation for any barangay island electrification is P4 million.
The Sual coal-fired power plant in Barangay Pangascasan, the largest coal power plant in the Philippines, has a generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts.
TeaM Energy has also initiated several other community and livelihood projects on the island. #
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
