Separating Baguio from Beneco

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY –The city council’s approval of a proposal to separate this city from operations of the Benguet Electric Coop. and come up with a new electric firm for the summer capital is getting more interesting by the day.

According to Delmar Carino, Beneco legal counsel, only Congress has the authority to grant, separate or revoke the Beneco franchise like any other power firm. He said Beneco was given the franchise as exclusive distributor of electricity to Baguio and Benguet.

Now, the grapevine is that Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara is being persuaded by certain quarters to initiate the ball rolling in Congress to separate Beneco from Baguio. The controversy started after Beneco management proposed that its department managers be given a P100,000 per month salary, a move ridiculed by certain quarters as “usurious” considering that it was even higher than the salary of the President of this Banana Republic,

Detractors added even if P-Noy bought a secondhand Jaguar and uses it at will, it was from his personal funds unlike some Beneco officials or personnel who were issued vehicles and use these even in non-official functions. They said the vehicles could be spotted anywhere in the city even at night.

A piqued councilor Fred Bagbagen said Beneco management was treating the power firm’s money like it was their own personal funds.

The city council, in a meeting with the power firm’s representatives, thumbed down the salary proposal after among other reasons, a Beneco department head said the skyline increase would increase efficiency of Beneco bosses.

Councilor Erdolfo Balajadia asked if the department heads were not efficient since they were not getting yet the proposed salaries. This got a silent response from Beneco representatives. The councilor was gentleman enough not to press the point.

Following these, Councilor Richard Carino proposed a resolution “calling for the separation of the Baguio City electric system from the Benguet Electric Coop.”

Carino said there are technical and economic advantages if the city’s electric system will be separated from that of Benguet. He said the line loss component of the systems loss would be drastically reduced and “this would redound to the reduction of the ‘system loss’ charge of the separate Baguio City electric franchise.”

He explained: “In the operation of Beneco, its average systems loss per month is 14 percent. This means that Beneco is selling only 86 percent of its purchased power from NPC (National Power Corporation) and other generating plants. As a form of recovery of the ‘lost’ energy, Beneco charges a ‘system loss’ charge to all its customers. The system loss charge is now averaging at P0.60 per kilowatt hour consumed by the Beneco customer,

“The system loss is basically composed of distribution line losses and pilferage. The latter is controllable by Beneco, but the line losses are inherent in the electrical system and are controllable only to some extent by the cooperative. The longer the distribution line, the greater is the line loss hence higher systems loss.

“The Beneco system is supplying electricity to Baguio City and the other towns of Benguet. Baguio City, due to population density and compactness is being supplied by distribution lines which are relative shorter than those being supplied to other municipalities of Benguet, say Mankayan in the north. This means that the Baguio City electric system which comprises 80 percent of the total Beneco load contributed a lesser line loss than the other towns of Benguet combined.”

Carino said the city can follow the lead of the city of San Fernando, La Union and the town of San Juan also in La union which are separated from the La Union Electric Coop. (Luelco) and is being serviced by the La Union Electric Company (Lueco) which is said to be operating more efficiently and charges lower electric rate to customers as compared to Luelco because of lower systems loss.

“With the separation of Baguio City from the Beneco franchise, Beneco can now concentrate on the total electrification of the other unenergized barangays of Benguet municipalities,” the councilor added.

To these, Beneco’s Carino said: “We respect the opinions of our officials but this matter must be studied diligently because of its serious consequences. But at this time,” he added, “Beneco will abide with its mandate unless Congress says otherwise.”