A power outage on Siargao Island that began on Dec. 1 has left thousands of residents without electricity, prompting calls for the declaration of a state of calamity.

A special session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial council) to declare the state of calamity will be held Monday.

Aside from the outage, residents also need water supply as most of the municipalities and communities still rely on pumps to generate water for household consumption, according to Janis Medina Reginio of the Surigao del Norte government information office

The blackout on the island was triggered when the 34.5 kV (kilovolt) breaker at Barangay Cagdianao Substation in Claver tripped early Dec. 1 due to a line ground fault, disrupting the submarine cable that connects Siargao to mainland Mindanao.

SIARELCO (Siargao Electric Cooperative, Inc.), main power provider of the more than 36,000 households and business establishments in nine municipalities in Surigao del Norte, is leading efforts to repair the cable, with divers and technical experts continuing their search for the fault.

“During today’s cable-lifting operations, technical experts found no signs of a line fault at the kink suspected portion of the submarine cable,” SIARELCO said in a statement issued Saturday night.

“A special session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan was called by Vice Governor Eddie Gokiangkee Jr. on Friday (Dec. 6) but was not pushed through due to the lack of quorum,” Reginio said.

Governor Robert Lyndon Barbers has convened the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to coordinate relief efforts, which include
fuel shipments and generator sets from the Office of Civil Defense.

Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte 1st District Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas II announced that 30 generator sets and 300 solar panels will arrive soon to support recovery efforts. (PNA)