• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The underground cabling project in Bacolod, led by the Negros Electric and Power Corporation, is entering the final phase, the city said, and all telco providers have been urged to shift their overhead wiring into the underground conduit built by NEPC.
Mayor Greg Gasataya and NEPC representatives recently met to review the progress of the project, worth around P79 million, with the initial one kilometer to start from 5th Street going to Ramos area. The groundbreaking was held November last year.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod earlier stressed the need for the city “to develop a comprehensive underground cabling and connectivity plan to systematically address the persistent problem of overhead ‘spaghetti wires’, and enhance safety along public roads and thoroughfares.”
Councilor Bobby Rojas, who proposed the immediate activation of the inter-agency taskforce under City Ordinance 1099, or the Underground Cabling Ordinance of Bacolod, took note of extensive damage to electrical lines in the aftermath of Typhoon Tino.
He said this caused brownouts for more than 10 days, hence the urgent need to activate the task force, chaired by the mayor.
Per the ordinance approved in June this year, the task force shall conduct strategic planning and recommend plans of action pertaining to underground cabling in Bacolod, develop a unified and comprehensive underground connectivity plan, supervise the full implementation of the ordinance, and suppress the proliferation and stealing/robbery of the telco/electric cables, among others.
Rojas, chairperson of the SP Committee on Energy and Public Utilities, said the ordinance aims to address the proliferation of dangling and unbundled overhead wires, which pose hazards to the public, including the risk of being toppled by trees during severe weather conditions, accidental electrocution, and fire incidents due to electrical overloading.
“The city government has the authority to regulate public utilities and activities…to promote public safety, welfare, and good governance, and it is imperative to develop a comprehensive underground cabling and connectivity plan to address persistent problem of ‘spaghetti wires’,” he added. | CGC
