15/06/2026
Beyond the blackouts: What did BENECO actually accomplish in 2025?
ANALYSIS
By Mia Magdalena Fokno
June 14, 2026
Most people notice BENECO only when the lights go out.
Fair enough.
But beyond the complaints, social media rants, and outage advisories lies a question that rarely gets asked:
What exactly has the electric cooperative been doing the rest of the year?
That question was at the heart of the second leg of the Benguet Electric Cooperativeโs 45th Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) on June 13, where more than 5,000 member-consumer-owners (MCOs) gathered to hear managementโs report and review the cooperativeโs performance.
Based on BENECOโs 2025 Annual Report and the report delivered by General Manager Engr. Melchor Licoben, the answer is a mixture of growth, infrastructure expansion, financial improvement, and long-term investments, alongside reliability issues that continue to frustrate consumers.
๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐ช๐ข๐๐ง๐จ, ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐
One of the clearest signs of growth was rising electricity demand.
BENECO reported that its non-coincident peak demand increased from 101,739.38 kilowatts in 2024 to 110,037.17 kilowatts in 2025, while total energy sales rose from 541.75 million kilowatt-hours to 573.28 million kilowatt-hours.
In practical terms, households, businesses, schools, and industries across Baguio City and Benguet consumed more electricity than they did the previous year.
That growth placed greater pressure on the cooperativeโs system and required continued investments in substations, distribution lines, transformers, and monitoring equipment.
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐
The cooperative also reported a stronger financial position.
According to Licoben, BENECOโs result of operations improved from โฑ419,682 in 2024 to โฑ3.34 million in 2025.
Key financial indicators likewise strengthened, with the quick ratio rising to 2.77, the working capital ratio to 2.96, and the debt ratio improving to 0.31.
At the same time, total distribution sales declined from โฑ4.72 billion to โฑ4.46 billion, largely due to lower generation costs.
For consumers, that translated into lower electricity charges.
The average generation cost decreased from โฑ6.1428 per kilowatt-hour in 2024 to โฑ5.2780 per kilowatt-hour in 2025, which management attributed to improved power procurement and supply management strategies.
๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ข
Much of BENECOโs investment during the year went into strengthening the distribution network.
The cooperative energized a 50-MVA transformer at the Lamut Substation and a 10-MVA transformer at the Bulalacao Substation, while expanding and upgrading its distribution system with nearly 23 kilometers of new tree wire, primary lines, and secondary lines.
Additional switching and protection equipment were installed in key substations to improve reliability and accommodate increasing demand.
BENECO also expanded its smart metering and monitoring capabilities through the installation of thousands of new meters, transformer monitoring systems, feeder metering units, and protection devices aimed at improving system visibility and technical decision-making.
While largely invisible to the public, these upgrades form part of the infrastructure that supports everyday electric service.
๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐
The cooperative also continued its push toward digitalization.
The BENECO Mo Ito App gained wider use, while additional online payment channels through Metrobank and RCBC were introduced.
According to the report, processed bills increased by 22.76 percent, while billed accounts increased by 2.95 percent, reflecting efforts to make payment and customer transactions more convenient and accessible.
๐ฝ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐๐ง
One of BENECOโs most significant developments was its growing role as a power generator.
Its 3.24-megawatt Man-asok Mini-Hydro Plant in Buguias exceeded its annual generation target by more than 3.4 million kilowatt-hours.
Revenue from Man-asok generation sales increased from โฑ17.64 million to โฑ90.59 million, representing an increase of about 413 percent.
Management said the project forms part of a broader strategy to diversify revenue sources, strengthen energy security, and help stabilize future power costs.
The cooperative has also secured authority from the Department of Energy for additional renewable energy projects in Kabayan and is targeting a combined renewable energy portfolio of up to 50 megawatts in the coming years.
๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง 25 ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ
Perhaps the most consequential achievement for BENECOโs long-term future was legislative.
In September 2025, Congress approved what later became Republic Act No. 12303, granting BENECO a new 25-year franchise that will take effect upon the expiration of its current franchise in 2028.
The franchise renewal provides legal continuity and removes uncertainty over the cooperativeโs future operations.
During the same period, BENECO also secured additional power supply through competitive selection processes, including contracts for 36.5 megawatts from Therma Luzon Inc. and 36.5 megawatts from Masinloc Power Co. Ltd.
๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฉ
Not all the numbers moved in the right direction.
In a notable acknowledgment, management reported that reliability indicators worsened in 2025.
The System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) increased from 10.76 to 11.23, while the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) rose from 24.65 hours to 30.54 hours.
Simply put, consumers experienced more frequent interruptions and spent more time without electricity than they did the previous year.
Licoben attributed much of the decline in reliability to severe weather disturbances.
Typhoon Uwan alone reportedly damaged 307 poles and 34 distribution transformers, contributing to total restoration expenses of โฑ41.41 million.
For many consumers, however, reliability remains the measure that matters most.
A stronger balance sheet, new transformers, and future renewable energy projects may be encouraging, but they do little to ease the frustration of households and businesses left without power during storms. That gap between long-term progress and day-to-day consumer experience remains one of BENECOโs biggest challenges.
Management acknowledged that improving reliability, storm resilience, and system loss management remains a priority moving forward.
๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ
The assembly also highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of electric cooperatives: governance.
Unlike private utilities, electric cooperatives are owned by their member-consumer-owners.
According to the report, AGMA participation reached 5.57 percent, exceeding the required five-percent threshold.
The Board of Directors approved 178 resolutions during the year covering power supply, procurement, finance, renewable energy, legal matters, human resources, policies, and consumer programs.
The theme of this yearโs assemblyโโGovernance Stronger, Service Smarter, Future Brighterโโresonated throughout the gathering, from the message of National Electrification Administration Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda to the remarks of PhilRECA Party-list Representative Presley C. De Jesus and La Trinidad Mayor Roderick Awingan.
National Electrification Administration Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda commended BENECO for its resilience and consistent performance while urging continued transparency and innovation.
PhilRECA Party-list Representative Presley De Jesus described electricity as a catalyst for progress that powers schools, businesses, and communities, while PhilRECA Executive Director Janeene Depay-Colingan emphasized accountable governance and consumer engagement.
La Trinidad Mayor Roderick Awingan, meanwhile, cited BENECOโs continuing role in powering communities despite the geographical and operational challenges unique to Benguet.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ
The report presents a picture that is neither entirely triumphant nor entirely critical.
BENECO expanded infrastructure, improved its financial position, reduced generation costs, secured a new franchise, strengthened its renewable energy portfolio, and continued modernizing its operations.
At the same time, outage frequency and duration worsened, exposing vulnerabilities that consumers experience firsthand whenever storms strike.
Electricity, after all, is not just about whether the lights are on today.
It is also about whether the cooperative is making the right decisions to keep power affordable, reliable, and sustainable for the next generation.
The numbers suggest progress.
The blackouts remind everyone that progress remains unfinished.
And because BENECO is a cooperative, the final judgment belongs not to regulators, politicians, or social media commentators, but to the member-consumer-owners themselves.
