Beneco maintains 9% system loss

BENGUET Electric Cooperative (Beneco) has maintained a system loss of four percent lower than the allowable rate, enabling it to cut on its charges.

Engineer Carlo Joel Andres, Beneco construction and maintenance supervisor of Beneco said the power distributor had, on its fifth year, maintained a nine percent system loss, four percent lower than the 13 percent allowable rate.

Andres said Beneco is a consistent recipient of an award from the annual National Electrification Administration (NEA) “Lumens award” for maintaining a single digit system loss and for having the lowest power rate in the country.

Lumens is an annual award and recognition of the NEA to good performing electric cooperatives.

Andres said a single digit system loss means more power sold and low wastage which translates to income for the cooperative and the consumers do not have to pay for power they did not use. System loss is an allowable charge that can be passed on to consumers.

Andres explained Beneco worked hard to attain the one digit system loss, spending for the schooling of all engineers for two years to upgrade their skills in improving the electric cooperative’s system, making their power lines more reliable.

The cooperative also invested on the upgrade of the “backbone” lines to bigger capacity, shifted the transformer from silicone type to the amorphous type which consumes less power and changed all the electric meters of consumers

electromechanical to electronic meters – which led to the cut on power being lost.

Andres said tipsters fee for providing information about pilferages also helped lower the systems loss incurred by the cooperative. Andres said the consumers now benefit from the yield of the effort through efficient service and low passed-on charges. PNA