March 29, 2024

The strong winds brought by Typhoon Ulysses have caused over P2 million worth of damage to the poles and lines of the Benguet Electric Cooperative and left 192,000 households in Baguio and Benguet without power when it started battering the country dawn of Nov. 12. 

Data released by Beneco, through the Institutional Services Department, showed the distribution utility has incurred an estimated P2,081.197.55 worth of damage to its poles that collapsed or were bent and electricity lines that were cut, among other facilities. 

Beneco crew are working double time to restore and rehabilitate the poles and electricity lines damaged by the typhoon.

As of 8 a.m. of Nov. 13, power in 94,260 households in Baguio and Benguet was restored.

In Baguio, all of Beneco’s 13 feeders were energized by Friday, although there were still lateral lines connected to the feeders that are yet to be restored that’s why there were households that have no electricity yet.

Of the 105,263 affected households in Baguio, power in 68,052 households has been restored.

In La Trinidad, Benguet, power in 24,136 out of the 27,136 affected households was restored.

Beneco was hoping to achieve full restoration of power by weekend.

The Beneco report stated it was already on red alert and all its linemen were in full force by afternoon of Nov. 11.

“The linemen were briefed on the use of protective gears and installation of grounding clusters and strict observance of health and safety protocols against the spread of the Covid-19,” the report added.

In a post on its Facebook page at 10 p.m. of Nov.13, Beneco asked member-consumers to bear with the utility’s power restoration efforts.

“We are doing our best to restore power the soonest. However, restoration is more challenging than usual due to the extent of damage on our distribution facilities caused by the typhoon. Nevertheless, please be assured we are working round- the-clock to make sure power is restored the soonest,” the FB post added. – Jane B. Cadalig