Beneco to consumers: Conserve electricity

BENECO UPDATES

Delmar Carino

BAGUIO CITY -- The Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) has yet to experience power interruption pursuant to the Manual Load Dropping (MLD) scheme to ease power demand but officials are strongly urging consumers to do their part by cutting on the use of unnecessary electricity.
    Melchor Licoben, Beneco general manager officer in charge, said on Thursday that consumers should be wary of the announcements on MLD schedules by the National Grid Corporation of the Phil. (NGCP) since this will mean that power will be stopped temporarily for a number of hours.
    “This MLD is different from the power interruptions set by Beneco to conduct repair and maintenance. The MLD is a scheme adopted by the grid operator to balance the allocation of available power on the grid, “ he said.
    Licoben urged consumers to conserve energy and help lighten up the drawing of power form the grid.       
    The NGCP, the operator of the country’s transmission system, resorts to the use of MLD to stabilize the power grid whenever the power supply has reached critical levels due to the increased demand for electricity.   
    Congress has asked lately the NGCP and the Department of Energy to explain the rotating brownouts in June that have affected major areas in Luzon.
    The increased demand for electricity during summer has threatened power reserves. This forced the NGCP to use MLD through rotational brownouts to stabilize the system.
    Ramel Rifani, Beneco’s network services department manager, said the electric cooperative has received two notices for MLD in June but the interruption did not push through.
    However, he said that considering the pronouncements that MLD could still be possible until August, Beneco’s consumers are well advised to be responsible users of energy.
    “The advice is not only for our residential consumers but also for our big loaders who could adopt their own energy cutting mechanisms to avoid clogging the demand for power on the grid,” Rifani said.
    MelmaBatario, government relations and regional offices lead specialist for parts of the NGCP’s operations in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, confirmed that Beneco had been advised of a rotational brownout but the interruption was stopped. 
    “The NGCP was able to improve and stabilize the grid connected to the electric cooperative so the MLD was shelved,” she said.
    Batario said the other electric cooperatives in the region that forms part of her area of assignment – Mt. Province Electric Cooperative (Mopreco), Kalinga Electric Cooperative (Kaelco) and AbraElectgric Cooperative (Abreco)  -- were similarly given notices of MLD but were spared just the same when the power supply was stabilized on the dates the MLD were scheduled.