Siquijor: Electricity was restored on the island-province of Siquijor following a total blackout caused by a low fuel inventory and the cancellation of sea travel. This disruption was attributed to Typhoon Tino, which prevented fuel delivery to the island’s power supplier, Total Power Inc. (TPI).

According to Philippines News Agency, Lawyer Dale Tudtud, the provincial chief of staff and tourism officer-in-charge, confirmed that TPI’s power plants resumed operations after experiencing several days of limited power supply. The barge responsible for delivering fuel to TPI, usually arriving every four days, was stranded in Cebu due to the typhoon-induced sea travel cancellations. It finally reached Siquijor early Thursday, enabling TPI to receive the necessary fuel to restart its plants.

The power outages began on Tuesday, prompting the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco) to implement manual load shedding through rotating brownouts as TPI’s fuel supplies dwindled. Prosielco, responsible for distributing TPI’s generated power, provided regular updates on social media and announced the complete shutdown of TPI’s three plants on Wednesday.

Tudtud mentioned plans for a forthcoming meeting with TPI and Prosielco to devise strategies to prevent similar occurrences in the future. A potential short-term solution involves increasing TPI’s fuel supply from four to ten days. This measure aims to prepare for future typhoons and establish a long-term strategy while awaiting the identification of a permanent power supplier.

Currently, TPI operates under an Emergency Power Supply Agreement with the government for a year to address the ongoing power issues in Siquijor, which arose from challenges faced by the previous power supplier.