No power in 1 of 4 poll centers in Kalinga

KALINGA, Philippines – One fourth of schools in this northern province that will be serving as voting precincts on May 13 have no electricity.

George Laed IV, technician of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office in Kalinga said that 56 out of the 194 schools in the province which would be used for the elections still has no electricity.

This can lead to problems in an automated election.

Most of the schools that have no power are in the towns of Lubuagan, Balbalan, Pasil, Pinukpuk, Tinglayan, and Tanudan, and two schools in Tabuk City.

Laed said that some of these areas are powered by mini-hydro plants, which are not considered reliable, as the province is experiencing mild drought.

The vote recording machines – called precinct count optical scan machines – have their own back-up power enough for 12 hours. However, Laed said, the broadband global area network (BGAN), and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) equipment – used for these places that have no cellular signal – need to be energized.

The Kalinga Electric Cooperative (Kaelco) said that Lubuagan, Pasil and Balbalan, which account for 33 school precincts, will have stable and 24-hour power supply only by end of June this year.

Three one-phase tapping points connecting the Kaelco grid to the 3 municipalities are now being upgraded and targeted for completion by June 30 this year, said Kaelco manager Corazon Thomas. – Rappler.com