LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines - Instead of being refunded to the over 120,000 consumers, members of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) here decided to utilize the less than P30 million over collected power purchase adjustment (PPA) to energize remote towns in this vegetable-producing province and more streetlights for nearby Baguio City. Earlier, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered Beneco to refund more or less P30 million representing supposed over recoveries in the controversial power purchase adjustment from January 1999 to April 2004. Adding insult to injury, the Court of Appeals (CA) sustained the ERC ruling in an order dated Nov. 28, 2008 after the rural electric cooperative appealed the ERC order. In July this year, Beneco started refunding the over collected PPA to the consumers and it was already able to give back to the consumers more or less P4 million until the middle part of this month.
When the report on the ongoing refund for the over recoveries was presented during the annual general membership assembly, thousands of members voted in favor of the proposal to waive the remaining P30 million balance from the refund and the same will instead be used to energize remote sitios in various parts of Benguet, including the installation of additional streetlights in Baguio City's 128 villages. The resolution which was adopted during the assembly cited the members are aware that there are still various far flung sitios in the 13 towns of Benguet which are in dire need of electricity and that there is also a need to install more streetlights in the different parts of Baguio City to help improve the worsening peace and order situation.(Dexter A. Se
