BENECO accelerates power restoration in Northern Benguet, Baguio

BAGUIO CITY — The Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) announced that power restoration efforts across Northern Benguet and parts of Baguio are ongoing, with full energization expected to take up to two weeks due to extensive infrastructure damage.

According to BENECO’s latest update, work crews are focusing on restoring electricity to Atok, Kapangan, Tublay, Buguias, Mankayan, Kibungan, and Bakun—areas hardest hit by the recent outage.

Power will be reconnected once the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) fully restores transmission supply to the cooperative.

Two major distribution backbones—Circuit 4 and Circuit 6—sustained significant damage, delaying restoration in several northern municipalities.

Circuit 4, supplying Guinaoang, Mankayan to Amlimay, Buguias, suffered five damaged poles.

Circuit 6, which serves Sinipsip and Amgaleygey to Abatan, also reported multiple destroyed poles and backbone lines.

Meanwhile, Circuits 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are ready for energization pending NGCP transmission supply:

• • Circuit 1: Halsema Highway from Camp 30 to Km 21, Atok
  • Circuit 2: Halsema Highway from Camp 30 to Km 40, Atok
  • Circuit 3: Backbone lines from Camp 30 to Sowe, Poblacion Atok, Taba-ao, Kapangan to Poblacion, Kibungan, and Caponga, Tublay
  • Circuit 5: Cervantes Road from Bulalacao Substation to Poblacion, Mankayan
  • Circuit 7: Halsema Highway from Sinipsip Substation to Bakun Junction
  • Circuit 8: Under repair following road clearance operations

As of 12:00 noon, BENECO recorded 104 damaged poles—57 of which are in the northern area (15 in Atok, 26 in Buguias, 1 in Kapangan, 2 in Kibungan, 9 in Mankayan, and 4 in Tublay)—along with nine damaged transformers.

BENECO said 176 out of 269 barangays have already been restored, but major reconstruction remains, with an estimated ₱10.2 million in distribution network damages.

Baguio City residents continue to face occasional voltage fluctuations as NGCP stabilizes its transmission lines feeding BENECO’s substations.

The cooperative reassured that once NGCP completes transmission restoration, Baguio and adjacent Benguet towns will receive consistent power supply.

“Full restoration in Northern Benguet may take up to two weeks due to the terrain, logistical challenges, and damaged infrastructure,” said Engr. Fraiser Angayen, Network Services Department Manager.

Assistant General Manager Artemio Bacoco and the Community Relations team are coordinating with municipal leaders, while General Manager Melchor S. Licoben oversees province-wide technical restoration efforts.

BENECO teams and contractors have been working continuously since Tuesday, clearing debris, inspecting lines, and erecting new poles—often in steep, hard-to-reach areas.

Each pole replacement can take nearly a full day, with materials hauled from Baguio, further slowing progress.

Despite challenges, the cooperative prioritizes energizing municipal centers, halls, and critical facilities to ensure continued delivery of basic services.