Benguet towns may stay in the dark for a few more weeks.
Over 100 Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) backbone lines remain down, with the largest damage seen in Buguias and Kabayan towns in the province after Typhoon Uwan wreaked havoc over the weekend.
Beneco reports that as of noon today, November 13, damage to the electric cooperative has reached P10.1 million, with substation equipment, primary poles and lines, transformers, and protective devices damaged. The damaged poles are a primary factor causing delays in the return of electricity.
The latest Beneco report details the extent of damage to its infrastructure across the franchise area. Buguias and Kabayan, the towns facing the longest outages, reported the highest number of broken poles in the province.
Engr. Fraiser Angayen, Network Services Department (NSD) Manager, set the timeline, citing the “extensive damages, terrain challenges, and logistical requirements” facing Beneco teams.
The most significant snag to full power restoration in Northern Benguet is from massive damage to Circuits 4 and 6, critical backbone lines supplying the municipalities.
Circuit 4, which runs from Guinaoang, Mankayan to Amlimay, Buguias, has its major damage point starting at Guinaoang with five poles destroyed. Similarly, Circuit 6, which services the area from Sinispsip and Amgaleygey to Abatan, also suffered multiple backbone line breaks and destroyed poles starting at Sinipsip.
Since these circuits are essential distribution lines, and damage massive, repair reamins a race against time, explaining why full restoration could take up to two weeks, the electric cooperative is waiting for more reports of damage as of press time.
| Location | Damaged Poles |
| Buguias | 26 |
| Kabayan | 20 |
| Atok | 15 |
| Baguio City | 10 |
| Mankayan | 9 |
| Bokod | 5 |
| Itogon | 5 |
| Tublay | 4 |
| Sablan | 3 |
| Kibungan | 2 |
| La Trinidad | 2 |
| Tuba | 2 |
| Kapangan | 1 |
| Bakun | 0 |
| TOTAL | 104 |
The Department of Energy (DOE) has set a one-month target for the full restoration of electricity in provinces ravaged by Super Typhoon Uwan (Fung-wong), emphasizing the unprecedented scale of the disaster that has left around 3.4 million households in the dark.
The damage to transmission lines from Super Typhoon Uwan has created a widespread power crisis affecting numerous electric cooperatives across multiple regions.
In the Cordillera and surrounding areas, cooperatives impacted include the Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative Inc. (NUVELCO), Ifugao Electric Cooperative Inc. (IFELCO), Mountain Province Electric Cooperative Inc. (MOPRECO), and the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO).
The impact extends severely into Southern Luzon, where cooperatives like Quezon 1 Electric Cooperative Inc. (QUEZELCO I), the four Camarines Sur cooperatives (CASURECO I, II, III, IV), Albay Electric Cooperative Inc. (ALECO), Camarines Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. (CANORECO), and Sorsogon I and II Electric Cooperative Inc. (SORECO I and II) have all been hit. Furthermore, the damage reaches the Visayas, affecting the Northern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc. (NORSAMELCO). Maria Elena Catajan with reports from BENECO