AUGMENTATION. The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO), with its main office in Kabankalan City, receives augmentation personnel from the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) based in Bacolod City on Jan. 24, 2022. The team has been deployed to La Castellana town to assist their southern Negros counterparts in the continuing power restoration activities after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in December.(Photo courtesy of Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative) BACOLOD CITY - Power supply has been restored in 68.93 percent of households affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in southern Negros Occidental last December, a situation update released by the Office of Civil Defense-Western Visayas (OCD-6) on Thursday showed. The data is based on the power restoration report submitted by the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) as of January 24, which includes 17 cities and municipalities under its coverage area. Of the 180,921 households with active connections, electricity has already been restored in 124,710 households, leaving 56,211 still up for reconnection. "Target date of full restoration for barangays in town proper is January 31, 2022," NOCECO said in its report. Overnight on December 16, Typhoon Odette pummeled Negros Occidental, toppling electrical posts and destroying power lines across the province. Southern Negros was the worst hit as residents experienced heavy rains and widespread floods as well. Out of the 17 affected local government units in the south, six have already fully restored or 100 percent power supply, including Himamaylan City, La Carlota City, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, San Enrique, and Valladolid towns. Areas with the lowest number of reenergized households are the hardest-hit localities such as Candoni, 21.77 percent; Sipalay City, 37.86 percent; Kabankalan City, 48.40 percent; and Cauayan, 48.68 percent. In terms of the number of barangays with restored power, NOCECO reported a total of 83.12 percent or 256 out of the 308 affected barangays. Cauayan has the lowest percentage of reenergized barangays, with only 60 percent or 15 out of 25, followed by La Castellana, 61.54 percent, or eight out of 13. Data further showed Typhoon Odette brought an estimated PHP344.146 million worth of damage to the power facilities of NOCECO. The rest of the localities incurred damage between PHP5 million and PHP18 million. (PNA) }