By Mary Judaline Partlow June 24,
2020, 9:41 pm
DUMAGUETE CITY – Geothermal power leader Energy Development Corporation
(EDC) has facilitated the return of its employees and contractors of the
Lopez-led company after they were stranded due to the community quarantine and
travel restrictions across the country, even as it assured of continued supply
of clean and renewable energy 24/7 despite the coronavirus disease 2019
(Covid-19) pandemic.
Neil John Escalera, operations and
maintenance resource support engineer sent to EDC’s geothermal facility in
Valencia, Negros Oriental, recounted the lockdown just a few days after he
arrived on site, via a media release from the power firm on Wednesday.
“I was worried and concerned since I
was not with my family during this time of crisis,” he said. “Fortunately, the
company did not let us feel alone in this battle. They constantly communicated
with us and let us know of their plans to return us home safely,” Escalera
said.
EDC operates the geothermal power
plants of combined power of more than 200MW at its Southern Negros Geothermal
Project.
Many of EDC’s employees and
contractors had endured more than 70 days of being stranded since the country
imposed community quarantine starting in mid-March due to the threat of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the statement said.
“This complex task of ensuring the
safe return of our stranded colleagues was made possible by the team’s agile
way of doing things and our company’s genuine ‘malasakit’ (concern) for us,
employees, which we all felt during this pandemic,” said Frances Ariola of the
EDC's Public Relations office.
EDC, the largest renewable energy
producer in the country, operates geothermal power plants in Negros, Bicol,
Leyte, and North Cotabato, a combined solar and wind power farm in Ilocos Norte,
and a hydro-electric power plant in Nueva Ecija.
Employees and contractors travel
regularly to these sites and are also temporarily given different assignments
as part of their work programs, EDC said in a statement.
“With electricity being an essential
resource all the more needed now, the company doubled-down on its commitment to
keep uninterrupted, life-saving power flowing into the grid, but we also had a
duty to keep our plant employees and contractors – our very own front liners –
safe and supported,” said Ana Marie Agapinan of EDC’s extrication project team.
“We also knew that we had to get our stranded personnel home to their families
as soon as we would be allowed to”.
Agapinan led a small team that was
assembled to plan out the extrication and return of the EDC employees and
contractors who were stranded and quarantined.
Initially, more than 150 employees
were identified for transport/return to their respective home provinces and
assignments but after thorough planning and preparations, the final number of
returnees was reduced to 54 as some have decided to stay in their current site.
The return of these individuals was
done in accordance with the guidelines of the government’s Inter-Agency Task
Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, requirements of local
government units, and other travel guidelines, with all the necessary documents
and permits obtained.
On May 25, a chartered flight hopped
between Manila, Ormoc, Davao, Dumaguete, and Legazpi with a back-up plan for
land and sea travel in the event that quarantine protocols shifted during the
interim.
EDC generates 37 percent of the
country’s total renewable energy output and serves about 10 percent of its
total electricity demand with its total installed capacity of 1,473.3MW.
Its 1,181MW geothermal portfolio
accounts for 61 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity,
helping put the Philippines on the map as the world’s 3rd largest geothermal
power producer.
“Throughout this pandemic, we have
been guided by our Lopez Values, in particular, the value of Employee Welfare
and Wellness which has been at the top of our list since the pandemic started,
and this extrication project and all the teamwork it inspired demonstrated
that,” said Miguel de Vera, EDC sponsor of the extrication project, in the
media statement.
“To be able to fulfill our mission
of providing clean and reliable energy to hospitals and essential industries,
and, at the same time be able to support, care for, and keep its people safe
through this tough time – I don’t think we in EDC could have asked for more,”
he added. (PNA)
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