Baguio: A landslide damaged the base of an electric pole of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) here on Tuesday, causing an emergency power interruption in parts of La Trinidad, Itogon, and Bokod in Benguet, as well as several areas in this city.
According to Philippines News Agency, Beneco said it expects to fix the problem in 10 to 12 hours despite the bad weather, after the landslide cut power in three feeder lines. “Beneco is doing its best to restore power, but the weather is uncooperative,” Laarni Ilagan, Beneco community relations officer, said in a message. She stated that Beneco’s response teams are deployed 24/7 to repair electric lines and ensure the restoration of power supply, especially after the series of tropical cyclones that affected Northern Luzon in the past few days left many areas in Benguet without power.
“Our linemen are continuously operating to ensure that those affected by the different (cyclones), including the new problems, are addressed,” Ilagan said. On Monday, Beneco General Manager Melchor Licoben met with the cooperative’s linemen and engineers to give them instructions on safety as they work toward restoring power supply in the affected areas. “While we want to restore power, (we) never compromise the safety of our people,” he said.
Beneco is the sole electric distributor in Baguio and Benguet, with more than 250,000 connections and 145,000 consumer-members.
