NEA, BENECO board told to schedule district polls
City officials recently enjoined the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the interim Board of Directors of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) to order, and immediately conduct, at the earliest possible time, the election of the regular members of BENECO’s Board of Directors.
In a resolution authored by Councilor Rocky M. Aliping, the installation of Engr. Melchor S. Licoben as the permanent general manager of the electric cooperative under a performance management contract (PMC) basis and as confirmed by the NEA Board of Administrators through NEA-BOA Resolution No. 2023-245 effectively resolved the managerial dispute in the cooperative, thus, it is proper for member-consumer-owners (MCOs) to be represented by regular members of the Board of Directors of their choice who should be elected at large through a transparent electoral process from their respective districts to be the official policy makers to address pertinent issues affecting the operation and management of BENECO.
The council admitted that in the past, BENECO was best affected by various issues and controversies creating confusion that plagued the electric cooperative that prompted the NEA to intervene to address the leadership impasse and other concerns affecting BENECO’s operation and management.
The body pointed out that in the absence of the regular members of the BENECO board as a result of a series of unfortunate events that transpired over the past several years, the NEA Board of Administrators created and installed a multi-sectoral task force to act as interim members of the board effective January 10, 2023 until the regular members shall have been selected by the member-consumer-owners who will comprise the regular members of the board.
The task force is composed of a Chairperson representing the business sector, along with representatives from the consumer/professional, religious, academe/education, and agricultural sectors, each serving as members of the board to act in the interim as the electric cooperative’s temporary policy-making body.
BENECO is one of the country’s few Class AAA electric cooperatives prior to the leadership crisis that beset the cooperative that caused the downgrading of its status to Class C before it was elevated to Class AA recently.
Copies of the approved resolution will be transmitted to the NEA, the interim BENECO Board of Directors and management for their information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action.
In a related development, members of the interim Board of Directors approved a resolution for the conduct of the district elections of the electric cooperative that will be scheduled on a date feasible for the said purpose during their regular meeting last January 9, 2024.
However, details of the conduct of the district elections will be crafted by the management and will be released soonest. – Dexter A. See
