BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews / 6 December) – Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, the Surfing Capital of the Philippines and a top tourist destination, has been experiencing a power blackout for six days due to a damaged submarine cable.
The power outage began on the morning of December 1, but it was only a day later that the island’s residents were informed that the cause was a fault in the submarine cable.
According to the Siargao Electric Cooperative (SIARELCO), the power failure resulted from a line fault in the 34.5MV submarine cable between Barangay Cagdianao in Claver town and Barangay Doña Helen in the island town of Socorro, Surigao del Norte.
“The first fault location has already been secured, and our divers have successfully located it. The second is within the portion of the submarine cable that was cut and damaged during the 2010 incident,” SIARELCO said.
The power utility also announced that its contractor went to Manila on Friday to procure critical materials such as splicing and termination kits. However, if these are unavailable locally, they will be sourced from Singapore.
“We are preparing other necessary materials and equipment available in Surigao City, including the spare submarine cable stored at the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative, as well as ropes, a boom truck, a crane, and a barge,” SIARELCO added.
Siargao Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas II shared on social media that a barge with a crane was en route to Doña Helen, Socorro on Friday to lift the submarine cable, allowing SIARELCO to start repairs.
The Office of Civil Defense Caraga (OCD) and the Surigao del Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council held an emergency meeting on December 5 to address the extended power outage affecting Siargao Island.
OCD-Caraga said the submarine cable, Siargao’s main power supply lifeline, is critical for transmitting electricity from the Maria Cristina Hydroelectric Grid to the island.
With no definite date for power restoration, the Department of Tourism-Caraga Region urged accredited tourism-related enterprises with backup generators to share resources with affected communities.
It also posted a list of government offices in Siargao offering free charging services.
For incoming tourists, DOT-Caraga advised packing essentials such as power banks, rechargeable lamps and fans, and cash, as some ATMs are currently non-operational.
Jyric Olia, a resident of Barangay San Jose in Del Carmen, told MindaNews via Messenger that the power outage has been highly disruptive.
“The power outage is super hassle, especially for daily work transactions. Everyone is affected. Every night, we can’t sleep properly because it’s so hot. Sometimes, we only get to sleep at 1 a.m.,” Olia said.
While free charging stations are available, he said they prefer charging at nearby establishments with generators, even though it costs ₱25 per phone.
“I hope this gets fixed as soon as possible because this situation has increased my expenses just to charge my phone,” he added.
According to SIARELCO’s website, the electric cooperative serves 34,606 members and maintains 36,038 connections across the island. (Ivy Marie Mangadlao/MindaNews)
