Benguet coop eyes hydros to reduce power rates

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Benguet’s vast water resources are seen as Benguet Electric Cooperative’s solution to the problem of high electricity rates.

"About 85 to 90 percent of the power cost consumers pay in Baguio and Benguet represents the generation cost. Benguet’s great potential for mini hydroelectric plants can achieve for Beneco less cost of power," Beneco General Manager Gerardo P. Verzosa said at a program marking the recent 35th founding anniversary of the power cooperative.
Beneco came into being in October 1973.

With the recent developments in the power industry and the impending full privatization of the National Power Corp., the problem of how to source and manage power supply is the biggest challenge for electric utilities like Beneco, Verzosa said.

Aside from doing the mandate to push the rural electrification program of the government, the EPIRA law now demands reliability, quality, and affordability of the services rendered by electric cooperatives.

"Before the passage of EPIRA, we were focused on meeting the economic package of employees, cutting down systems loss, and improving collection efficiency," Verzosa said.

Furthermore, with the creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission as mandated by the EPIRA law, Verzosa said, electric cooperatives are now regulated and are required to limit occurrence of outages, comply with the Philippine Grid and Distribution Code, which are costly (millions) to implement.

‘With EPIRA, we are forced to perform just like any other private utility," Verzosa also said.

Despite these obstacles, Beneco has been able to continue its rural electrification mandate in Benguet, he said.

Atok Mayor Concepcion Balao said that "Beneco has played a key role in the development of our Atok municipality, as I have seen that almost eight barangays were energized. When Atok was energized, an increase in its population from 16,000 to 16,253 came about, she said.

"Beneco helped not only in terms of infrastructure development but also in social progress. Light is very important to our life especially in remote areas of Benguet," Balao said.

She expressed gratitude to Beneco "for installing street lights on Halsema Highway. Commuters from Baguio going to the northern provinces, a very critical area, can now feel secure traveling at night."

"I’m confident that we will survive the fast changing climate and meet all standards because just like in 1990 with very limited resources, we were able to turn around Beneco," Verzosa said. – Dexter A See