MANILA - The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Sunday said they are working around the clock to restore power after it was cut off due to the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy (international code name Ketsana).

In a statement, Meralco said that as of 11 a.m. Sunday, 12 substations are still without power due to floods caused by the storm.

The following are the said affected substations: Bocaue, Taguig, Sampaloc, Cavite, Kaybiga, Las Piñas, Palomar, Cainta, Tegen, Binondo, Angat, and San Miguel.

"Areas serviced by these affected substations are still without power. Circuits without electricity number to 139, or 20 percent of the 683 circuits in the entire Meralco franchise area. Ensuring the safety of the public was the primary reason for cutting off power in the said circuits," Meralco Communications Manager Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Around 1 million Meralco customers without power, or a little over 1/5 of total registered Meralco consumers, the company said.

Meralco is asking the public to bear with them as their crews do a thorough inspection of their facilities first before power is restored in affected areas.

"Safety of residents remains to be the primary concern in restoring power to these affected areas. Unfortunately, the floods have been slow in subsiding and this impedes the progress of our restoration work in a number of our substations. We would like to assure our customers, though, that virtually all of our field personnel have already been deployed and have been working round the clock to restore power in the most reasonable time possible," Zaldarriaga was quoted as saying.

He added that should customers have any difficulty getting through the Meralco hotline 16211, they could also text flood situations and other Meralco-related concerns over the following numbers: 09175592824 and 09209292824.