Nearly 197,000 Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) customers in Cavite and neighboring provinces remained without electricity Monday morning following Super Typhoon Uwan, with full restoration not expected until Wednesday.
The typhoon made landfall in Aurora province Sunday night as a super typhoon with sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 230 kph, triggering widespread flooding, landslides and power outages across northern and central Luzon. At least 18 people died, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, said power disruptions peaked at midnight with 408,611 customers affected. By 10 a.m. Monday, that number had been reduced to 197,133.
“Hopefully a majority will have power before the day ends, and hopefully by tomorrow we’ll manage to close it out, except for perhaps a few more areas,” Zaldarriaga said at a briefing.
Cavite bore the brunt of the outages, along with Bulacan, Quezon and Metro Manila, he said. Laguna and Batangas also reported disruptions.
The utility company is coordinating with local governments and other agencies to prioritize restoration for critical facilities including hospitals, transportation systems and government offices, Zaldarriaga said.
About 10,000 customers in flooded areas face longer waits as line crews cannot safely begin repairs until waters recede, he said.
Citing historical data, Zaldarriaga said restoring power to nearly 197,000 customers typically requires two to three days. The outages stemmed from damage to poles and distribution lines caused by Uwan’s strong winds and heavy rains.
Uwan struck the Philippines while the country was still recovering from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed at least 224 people in central provinces last week. More than 1.4 million people were evacuated ahead of Uwan’s arrival.
Uwan was the 21st tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2025.
Zaldarriaga urged customers to rely only on official Meralco sources for information after misinformation circulated Sunday claiming power in Metro Manila would be cut at 10 p.m.
“Don’t believe information that didn’t come from Meralco,” he said in Filipino.
Customers can contact Meralco through its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/meralco), Twitter (@meralco), text at 0920-971-6211 or 0917-551-6211, or by calling the Meralco hotline at 16211.
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