The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has postponed its maintenance schedule this week and will continue to provide uninterrupted power distribution during the community quarantine in Metro Manila.

The company cancelled the scheduled power interruption starting March 17 to 22 in some parts of Manila, Makati, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Parañaque, Taguig, Pasig, Caloocan and Quezon City as well as Bulacan, Laguna and Cavite.

This, after the Department of Energy (DOE) asked Meralco to postpone maintenance work until after the quarantine period in Metro Manila ends.

“If after a thorough evaluation, there is still a need to perform maintenance activities for safety reasons, an announcement for the scheduled maintenance will jointly be made by DOE and Meralco,” the DOE said in a statement.

Meralco said while the company continues operations in its franchise areas, it is taking all precautionary measures to preserve the safety and health of its employees amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.

“Our customers can be rest assured that safety is also of paramount concern to us and we will continue to cooperate with (the) government in ensuring that we will provide the best level of service expected from us,” Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Networks Ronnie Aperocho said in a separate statement.

Aperocho added Meralco is implementing a business continuity plan to ensure 24/7 power distribution especially in hospitals.

The government placed Metro Manila under a 30-day community quarantine until April 14, 2020 due to the spike in confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Currently, there are 140 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Philippines, with 12 reported deaths while two patients afflicted with the virus have recovered. (PNA)