The Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) has largely been spared from the impact of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and sustained less than a million pesos worth of infrastructure damage which has already been repaired.
According to BENECO Network Services Department System Planning and Design Engineer Sheraine Mae Willy, the storm cost the coop a total of P610,908.32 in damages to its distribution system primarily in Benguet province.
The electric cooperative recorded P593,421 in damage to its infrastructure in Benguet province, while the damage in Baguio City stood at P17,486.
The bulk of the damage was in the form of severe damage to five different transformers in Baguio Gold and Tinongdan in Itogon town, Bangao in Buguias town, Bayabas in Sablan town, and Camp 1 in Tuba town, which accounted for the bulk of the cost of damage at around P362,716.06.
There were also collapsed, eroded, and bent poles that were replaced and corrected in Mankayan, La Trinidad, Buguias, Tuba, and Baguio City.
According to Willy, the cooperative remains on high alert because of Typhoon (and later Super Typhoon) Leon as the province is still reporting some instances of low voltage and short power outages from fallen trees hitting power lines.
