Amid fears of massive power outages during the May 2010 elections, utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is giving its word to the public that it is not bereft of contingency measures and it has been exerting all efforts to ensure that such dreaded incident will not happen or thwart poll results.

The company, in a press statement, indicated that it “is currently taking proactive steps to ensure uninterrupted electric service for its franchise area before, during and after the elections.”

Meralco vice president and sub-transmission services head Rustico de Borja noted that the company is now going all-out in the “maintenance and checking of our facilities to ensure that these are in top condition” come election period.

Being a service provider imbued with public interest, Meralco said guaranteeing an uninterruptible power supply in the country’s first automated elections will be its supreme duty to the Filipino people.

De Borja emphasized that “for several months now, our sectors have conducted thorough calibration and maintenance checks of different Meralco facilities including distribution transformers, power lines, meters and other line equipment in our distribution system.”

Additionally, the company noted that its employees, especially line crews, “will be on general alert and on-hand to provide round-the-clock power monitoring and assistance.”

De Borja further manifested that the utility firm is “on top of the situation and we will make sure that the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) polling centers and optical scanning machines, communication equipment and computers will have sufficient power come election day.”