THE Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) is eyeing talks with the City Government of Baguio for the rehabilitation of the Asin mini hydropower plants in Tuba town.

Engineer Gerardo Versoza, Beneco general manager, said the power distributor is optimistic on the possible talks with Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to resolve standing issues pertaining to the Asin hydro, the use of power from waste to energy initiatives, street LED lights and the repositioning of electrical posts in the city.

“With Mayor Magalong, we have had formal talks about the Asin and he is very much interested to pursue and we have expressed our willingness to cooperate. Only the biggest challenge on the part of the city is the acceptance of the people of Tuba,” Versoza said.

Beneco is eyeing to rehabilitate, manage and operate the Asin hydro power plants, which have remained idle for so many years despite effort by the previous administration to pursue the long overdue rehabilitation and operation of the city-owned power plants.

In 2015, the local government signed a contract with Kaltimex for the rehabilitation and operation of the city-owned Asin minihydro power plants but the said contract was only confirmed by the local legislative body in 2017 or over a year since the signing of the same.

The local government took over the operation of the Asin minihydro power plants in 2006 but the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued a cease and desist order against the city in October 2012 that resulted in the stoppage of the operation of the power plants since the local government was not able to secure a certificate of compliance from the regulating agency.

The Asin mini hydropower Plants 1,2 and 3 were built, operated and administrated in the 1920’s when the Philippines was then under the administration of the United States Government.

Meanwhile, Versoza also welcomed the entry of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to help the city in making use of waste to generate energy from the Irisan dumpsite.

“We are glad that the PNOCRC has funded the conduct of the detailed feasibility study for waste to energy. We also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the PNOCRC in connection with their plan to put up a waste to energy facility working with the government because the key here is the local government unit who owns the garbage, so if this will be given to the PNOCRC to handle, manage and utilize the waste, then this will have a good future,” Versoza said.

Based on the calculation of Beneco, the generation cost out of the waste to energy is higher than what it is now paying, which is about P4 or less, with the power distributor eyeing to buy the eight megawatts output energy.