I only cared about work before, until I had a child and realized the importance of work-life balance.

Engr. Carlo Paquit, an electrical engineering graduate from the University of the Southeastern Philippines, has been working in Davao Light for almost a decade now. He started in the Substation Maintenance section under the Substation and Electrical Equipment Department (SEED) in 2013.

A substation converts electricity into different voltages needed by our homes, businesses, and buildings. The maintenance of substations is very important since they contain equipment that helps keep distribution systems running as smoothly as possible, without repeated failure or downtime resulting in reduced unplanned outages and increased customer satisfaction.

In 2016, Carlo moved to the Protective Relay section. “I was assigned to protection for almost six years. My most memorable experience as a Davao Light engineer was when one of our biggest substations was shut down during a holiday. I wasn’t used to working during the holidays and it made me realize that I’ve entered a career that requires me to work during rest days and when everyone is asleep,” he shared.

Carlo recalled that there is a lot of pressure in engineering operations since there is a timeline they need to follow. If their work is delayed, Davao Light customers will have no electricity for an even longer time, in addition to the scheduled outage.

“We ensure that our substations have a reliable first line of defense protection to avoid damage to the equipment. Additionally, repairing or replacing substation equipment takes a lot of time and money, which will affect both the customers and the company, so it's important to prevent serious damage as much as possible,” Carlo explained.

In choosing to be an electrical engineer despite the hardships, Carlo said he was encouraged by his mechanical engineer father and siblings who studied computer technology and computer science respectively. “Practicing a career in electrical engineering gave me a sense of responsibility. I am the youngest among three siblings and at first, I pursued a course similar to my older brothers—computer science. However, I saw that engineering courses have a fun culture that is more suitable to my personality, so I shifted.” Carlo also shared that he wants to pursue a different career path from his father and older brothers.

As a father to a three-year-old little girl, he now values having time off to spend time with his daughter. “I only cared about work before, until I had a child and realized the importance of work-life balance. Now, I no longer open e-mails when I get home from work. I also have a separate cellphone for work. I now believe that life is not just about work, but more on experiences,” Carlo makes sure that he is present in his child’s milestones like her moving up ceremony in nursery.

Recently assigned to the System Operations Department under the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) section, Carlo shares that he is excited to catch up with his new colleagues in terms of learning and experiences. The SCADA enables engineers to remotely collect and process data coming from the different franchise areas of Davao Light, making communication between different remote devices easier and more efficient thereby lessening the duration of power outages.

“Since I’ve been with SEED for more than nine years, I have to adapt to a new environment and culture. However, I have been dealing with the same people since I started in Davao Light, and I can see that I can improve some of the processes here as a new team member,” Carlo shared.