BAGUIO CITY – The member-consumers of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) approved the proposed amendments to its articles of incorporation to conform with the prevailing trend of the times and the involvement of the rural electric cooperative to various endeavors beneficial to the greater interest of the consumers.
The member-consumers ratified the proposal of management to include as one of the major activities of the cooperative power generation to legitimize its bid to operate a 3-megawatt minihydro power plant in Buguias town and its plan to further venture on the operation of more renewable energy plants within its franchise area to help reduce the cost of power to consumers.
Further, the proposal to change the official address of the cooperative from the original address in Alapang, La Trinidad, Benguet to South Drive, Baguio City was also confirmed by the members who attended the general assemblies organized by the cooperative in northern Benguet, particularly in Buguias last December 3, in southern Benguet, specifically in Itogon town last December 10 and in Baguio City last December 17.
The proposal to set the date of the annual general membership of the cooperative from the first Saturday of December to the first Saturday of June was also provide with the condition that there will be three successive assemblies, one in northern Benguet, another one in southern Benguet and the third one in Baguio City, all during the first, second and third Saturdays of June every year.
Under its old articles of incorporation, BENECO is supposedly involved only in the distribution of power to its consumers within its franchise area but management, upon the approval of the Board of Directors, decided to venture into the development of minihydro power plants within its franchise area to help reduce the cost of power being sold to its consumers and maximize the utilization of potential hydroelectric sites provincewide.
Leonardo Belingon, BENECO consumer welfare officer, noted the proposed amendments to the cooperative’s articles of incorporation was primarily intended to make the cooperative both a power generator and power distributor considering that it has the capacity to b actively involved in the development of potential hydro sites in the different parts of the province.
He expressed BENECO management’s gratitude to all the consumers who spared part of their precious time to attend the scheduled assemblies and be updated on the latest developments in the cooperative.
The approved amendments to the cooperative’s articles of incorporation will be subsequently submitted to the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for approval before it will be entered into the pertinent documents to update the said articles of incorporation.
BENECO decided to conduct three general assemblies within its franchise area to meet the prescribed quorum requirement of5 percent of the total members to be able to discuss pertinent issues about the cooperative.
BENECO is one of the few rural electric cooperatives and was able to garner illustrious awards in various local, regional and national recognitions for its exemplary achievements in the implementation of its mandate for rural electrification.
By HENT