posted June 22, 2020 at 10:53 pm
One of the toughest challenges one
can experience during this COVID-19 pandemic is being stranded and locked down
in a distant province away from home. This was the situation that more than 150
employees and contractors of Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC)
found themselves in soon after community quarantine and strict travel
restrictions were imposed in many parts of the country in mid-March.
EDC, being the largest renewable
energy producer in the Philippines, operates geothermal power plants in key
regions and provinces such as Bicol, Negros, Leyte, and North Cotabato; a
combined solar and wind power farm in Ilocos Norte; and a hydroelectric power
plant in Nueva Ecija. Employees and contractors often travel to or are
temporarily assigned to its different sites as part of their work programs.
“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 frontliners—safe
and supported,” explained Ana Marie C. Agapinan, EDC’s extrication project team
lead.
Ariel Rogel Ampong, EDC operations
excellence support head, was tasked to formulate the transportation plan and
movement schedule, optimizing the route plans and minimizing transport risks,
along with teammates Josephine Ao and Mheryl Espinosa. “It was truly a
concerted effort among several teams in the company,” said Ampong.
The planning began in early April,
bringing together representatives from relevant operational units of the
company who met twice a week, adjusting plans to consider the guidelines of the
government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases
(IATF-EID), the requirements of relevant local government units and other guidelines
related to travel.
The final number of returnees was
reduced to 54 as some have decided to stay in their current site.
“Good thing that EDC has comfortable
temporary facilities that provide for the needs of employees and contractors
who take on the valiant effort of keeping the lights on for our customers and
the public despite the pandemic,” said Ampong.
After weeks of careful planning and
detailed coordination, a final extrication execution meeting was held on May 23
and the day of return was set for May 25. A chartered flight hopping between
Manila, Ormoc, Davao, Dumaguete, and Legazpi was the preferred mode of
transportation, but a back-up plan for land and sea travel was also put in
place in case quarantine protocols evolved in the interim.
A 46-seater, twin turboprop aircraft
chartered from Air Swift originating from Manila flew a total of six legs,
picking up and dropping off passengers at various stops, all completed within a
span of 12 hours.
Passengers who alighted in Metro
Manila were also brought straight to their homes in Makati City, Mandaluyong
City, and the Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Batangas and Ilocos Sur. Many of them
endured over 70 days of being stranded before being flown home.
Roxanne Atayde, a geoscientist based
in EDC’s Leyte geothermal facility, was worried for her senior citizen parents
back home in Bulacan at the start of the lockdown. “I was relieved to know that
management was working on an extrication plan while I was also kept very
comfortable living in Leyte in the meantime. I am really grateful to EDC for
their genuine concern for the welfare of their employees.”
“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.
EDC generates 37% of the country’s
total renewable energy output and serves about 10% of its overall electricity
demand with the company’s total installed capacity of 1,473.3MW. Its 1,181MW
geothermal portfolio accounts for 61% of the country’s total installed
geothermal capacity, helping put the Philippines on the map as the world’s
third-largest geothermal power producer.
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