Following the destructive path of Super Typhoon Uwan and Typhoon Tino, a Philippine lawmaker is demanding a fundamental change in the country's approach to its electrical grid, calling for a nationwide push to bury power lines underground.
A Call for Coordinated Action
Senior Citizens Party-list Representative Rodolfo Ordanes has publicly urged key government bodies and private distributors to unite. He called on the Department of Energy (DOE), National Electrification Administration (NEA), Transco, and all power distributors to initiate coordinated projects aimed at installing underground power lines.
He specified that towns along the Pacific coasts of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, which frequently bear the brunt of typhoons, should be the primary focus. Ordanes emphasized that the recent storms should serve as the final, decisive lesson to propel a resilient electrification program forward.
Existing Projects as a Blueprint
The call for underground systems is not without precedent. Representative Ordanes pointed to a significant milestone: a groundbreaking ceremony for underground distribution lines on August 12, 2025. This project is located at the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport in Casiguran, Aurora—a area notably close to where Super Typhoon Uwan made landfall in Dinalungan.
The lawmaker also recalled a pioneering project from May 2016, which saw NEA implement its first underground distribution system in Batanes with the Batanes Electric Cooperative (Batanelco). The allocated budget for that project was a substantial P109.459 million.
On the private sector front, Ordanes noted that Meralco plans to expand its own underground cable network by installing 1,500 circuit kilometers of new lines by 2030, signaling a growing recognition of the strategy's importance.
Financing a Capital-Intensive Solution
Acknowledging that such infrastructure projects are highly capital-intensive, the congressman proposed innovative funding solutions beyond relying solely on the national budget. He recommended spreading the cost burden through several mechanisms:
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
- Expanded Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) schemes
- Issuance of long-term government bonds
- Securing concessional loans from international financial institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.
This multi-pronged approach, he argues, is essential to building a power distribution network that can withstand the increasing intensity of typhoons and ensure continuous electricity for Filipino communities.
