A landslide damaged the base of an electric pole belonging to the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) on Tuesday, leading to an emergency power interruption in parts of La Trinidad, Itogon, Bokod, and several areas in Baguio City.
Beneco reported that it expects to resolve the issue within 10 to 12 hours, despite challenging weather conditions that have complicated repairs. The landslide affected three feeder lines, cutting off power supply to numerous households.
“Beneco is doing its best to restore power, but the weather is uncooperative,” said Laarni Ilagan, Beneco’s community relations officer. She added that response teams are deployed 24/7 to repair electric lines and restore power, especially following a series of tropical cyclones that recently impacted Northern Luzon.
“Our linemen are continuously operating to ensure that those affected by the different cyclones, including the new problems, are addressed,” Ilagan noted.
On Monday, Beneco General Manager Melchor Licoben met with linemen and engineers to discuss safety protocols as they work to restore power. “While we want to restore power, (we) never compromise the safety of our people,” he emphasized.
Beneco is the sole electric distributor in Baguio and Benguet, serving over 250,000 connections and 145,000 consumer-members.