BENECO Nixes Underground Wiring
October 11, 2008 by lisa
Filed under business & economy
There! An ugly photo, finally, of my beautiful city! Because one of the things that ruin our landscape is the sight of those electricity wires attached to tall wooden poles (in some cases, the poles are made of cement) in front of our houses, our businesses with hundreds of wires sticking out and going in different directions. Some of those poles are supported by steel wires that are attached to the sidewalks so that the poles will not fall.
And very often, when a truck hits the poles, they fall and hundreds of houses lose power. It has been my dream for the City of Pines, especially because it is not below sea level, to have the power lines buried where they can cause no harm.
But according to this report, the Benguet Electric Cooperative, or BENECO, refuses to invest in underground wiring for Baguio City, even if:
- as mentioned, mere vehicular accidents involving trucks (or even just cars — right, Jozak?) ramming electricity posts cause massive power outages in the city very often;
- live wires that are cut and dangling dangerously low can harm pedestrians;
- lightning strikes our electricity posts pretty often (one such bolt of lightning did just that last month and caused cable, broadband, and electricity to go off on CM Recto Road and I know this because we actually watched the bolt lightning pass through the street and target the post);
- ’spaghetti’ wires, like those seen in the photo above, are not only ugly, but they can cause fires and a lot of damage to persons and property;
- electricity posts keep some of our streets narrow, are the reason some of our roads cannot be widened, and/or take up a lot of the space on our sidewalks, so that there’s no way of making Baguio sidewalks handicap-friendly;
- underground wires prevent illegal tapping by the squatters and unscrupulous residents;
- every time a typhoon is announced, even if it is not yet within the area of the City of Pines, BENECO almost always shuts off all our electricity as a “preventive” measure.
And the only reason that BENECO General Manager Gerardo Verzosa gives is because it is allegedly 10x more expensive than INSTALLING those ’spaghetti’ wires.
We just...
Anyone please, correct me if I’m wrong here. Session Rd. used to have dangling wires in the middle of the road until they were put somewhere else.
Lisa,
Anything that would lessen the bills we pay them, is a no-no to those electric companies who claims they are of service to the public. Same here in Bulacan, where MERALCO
is giving us really tough time applying for an additional meter. Our application was rejected twice inspite of complying with their requirements.
Underground wiring may be too expensive, but considering Baguio as a top tourist destination, it is a must because we are talking here of safety measures not just for the residents but as well as the tourists who flock to the city all-year round. Besides, underground wiring will greatly contribute to the beautification of the city the residents and even the local government are aspiring for.
Dear Resty,
I do not even remember that anymore.
See how beautiful Session Road is, Andoks Dine-in notwithstanding, with new sidewalks using paving tiles, and the absence of of electricity wires strung across.
Yes Lalaine,
For the city that used to hold the world record for the highest amount of rainfall (that’s before the pine trees started disappearing) it is imperative that the wires be buried.
It would be nice if other electricity distributors came in to give our power company a some competition so that we will not be held hostage to BENECO’s short-sightedness, unreasonableness and general greed. That’s how monopolies work.
I remember how it was in the 1980s when PILTEL was the only telephone company and folks had to wait a decade to get a phone, and how folks had to pay “rights” to buy someone else’s phone lines.
And considering how many times the city streets are dug up by other entities like DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways)or BWD (Baguio Water District), BENECO can coordinate with them to save on costs.
Been googling old Session Road pictures Lisa and there never were unsightly, dangling wires along Session Road. Oops, imagining things now, bad bad.
A humongous task for BENECO Lisa… i’m all for it. Even if i don’t see it in my lifetime or yours. But will that company have enough funds? Aaaah PILTEL or whatever phone company before that was … i still remember 2 phone numbers til now 2186 & 4365 that of Manila Cafe and Pineda Furnitures(population of Baguio 30,000?). Yup, you were a toddler still then…just reminiscing Lisa.
Hiya Resty,
Maybe because the Americans planned Session Road and Burnham Park, and Camp John Hay.
The problem with unplanned “development” is that first, the residents will go into homesteading, tapping whatever wires there are, having their water delivered as there’s no water source, then the footpaths become roads that are too narrow for two cars — like Greenwater, City Camp, Cabinet Hill, etc. They will build their homes as close to the road as possible because there are no setbacks in their tax declaration surveyed property.
Then they won’t build a house with a garage and use the street to park and wash their cars.
Then the public utility companies will come in and, since there’s a large enough market, the telephones come, then cable. But these folks are used to getting things for free — so they start tapping whatever they can. Look at Quirino Hill!
Then everyone complains that it’s hard to make money! How can the city make money for the residents if the residents uglify it?
What a long reply to such a short comment. Hahaha!
Hello Joe (it rhymes!),
C’mon! Your first call sign was JoeLan64. If you were born then, we’re the same age, with you slightly older because I was born in December. But if that’s your high school batch, well… you’re about 17 years older! That makes you — old!
I remember Mountain Lodge was 4544. and Europa 4455. BTW, they haven’t changed numbers in more than 30 years.
Baby steps for BENECO — we’re not asking them to rewire the whole of Baguio — they can start from the center of town, because that’s where the 128,000 students walk to school. Then radiate.
In fact, new subdivisions must be required to plan for underground wiring already. We all know how lightning loves our trees and electricity poles!
But for them to nix the idea altogether is too narrow-minded for me.
Lisa,
To answer reader Resty’s comment ” Been googling old Session Road pictures Lisa and there never were unsightly, dangling wires along Session Road. Oops, imagining things now, bad bad”, let me share you another photo of Bill’s collection and those dangling wires through your creativenative gmail.If you’re publishing it please do the necessary watermarking which is great.Btw, you owe me one response there. cheers.joe
Hey Resty,
Joe sent a photo that I am publishing here just to save your sanity. Yes, your memory served you well, there were posts in the MIDDLE of Session Road.
Thanks Joe, Lisa, now I don’t have to go see a doctor.
Sweet sleepy town Session Road, those were the days.
Hi, Lisa & Mr. Joe…
I wonder what year that photo was taken? The first time I went to Baguio was in 1981 and it’s a bit crowded already.
I am just curious because the cars in the photo were all vintage.
Hiya Lalaine,
Based on the vehicles, I would guess mid 1950’s — that’s when the old cars were rounded, and the new cars had fins.
Hi Lisa & Ms. Lalaine,
Just checked out Bill’s photos and he took his photos of Baguio June of 1962. Advent of colored films? i guess so. But Lisa is right that second car on the left was a 1957 Chevrolet. The yellow taxicab was definitely vintage. I gave Lisa a souvenir photo mid-50’s wala pang colored films noon siguro or mahal! cheers.
Thanks Joe,
I’m into vintage cars kasi, not photography! Would have made a lousy detective, thinking the clues were the cars not the film that was used. Hahaha!
Well said. If I do remember right, it was even May of last year that the City through the Committee on Public Utilities – which gave an ultimatum to BENECO and all cable companies to make sure that all wires which are often dangling, entangled, hanging low, often tripped and unattended are fixed and repaired so as to avoid any accidents and to make the city more aesthetically pleasing – well even to a temporary solution it seems that no action has been made. Anyway, if I were to give a suggestion, a revamp as to those managing our Public Utilities sector and their counterparts at City Hall would be a good start.
Hahaha Michael, I love that suggestion of a revamp — it’s not like BENECO is behaving like a cooperative (are any of the subscribers getting earnings on their shares?).
BENECO is behaving like the monopoly it is, refusing accountability, keeping the city in the 20th century as far as those posts and wires are concerned.
If not now, when?
A good rainy day Lisa, not sure if I’ve mentioned the following before but would just like to put in a good word for BENECO. I used to pay my electric bill at a bank to avoid the long line in their paying center in Maharlika. That was until the bank started charging a service charge of 5 pesos. And that was about the time too that BENECO moved up to the 2nd floor of Maharlika, with more paying counters, air con and electric fans in their new place. So far, the times I’ve paid my bill, haven’t encountered the dreadful long line. Thanks, BENECO.
how many times does in baguio get brownout
Hi Maxxy,
Surprisingly not too often these days (considering it’s July). And BENECO is very good about announcing scheduled ones in the local papers. However there are times a whole grid will suffer when one of the poles is hit by lightning or rammed by a vehicle.