Baguio, Benguet without power for a day

BAGUIO CITY — The cool air of Baguio City and Benguet may help temper tempers as residents endure a widespread power outage that began at 5:00 a.m. on 14 January 2026.

The brownout, affecting most parts of Baguio City and Benguet except for selected areas, is expected to last until 5:00 p.m. of the same day.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) earlier announced scheduled power interruptions on 14 January across the entire Mountain Province, large portions of Baguio City and Benguet, as well as parts of Cervantes and Quirino towns in Ilocos Sur, from 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

NGCP said the outage would allow electrical testing and maintenance of equipment at the La Trinidad, Benguet Substation, as well as maintenance activities along the La Trinidad–Sagada, Mountain Province 69-kilovolt line. The interruption will also give way to the energization of transformers for the HEDCOR Ampohaw Metering Facility.

However, the power interruption in Baguio City and Benguet will extend until 5:00 p.m., as the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) conducts energization and load normalization activities.

Meanwhile, Beneco said consumers can expect a more reliable, resilient, and modern power service in 2026 as the cooperative rolls out major infrastructure upgrades, capacity expansion, smart metering, and improved customer service systems to meet the fast-growing electricity demand in Baguio City and Benguet.

The cooperative cited the continuing installation of insulated or tree wires along critical backbone lines, particularly in heavily forested areas prone to tree-related outages. The P42-million project will cover 13 kilometers of backbone lines and directly benefit around 41,000 consumers.

Beneco also announced the scheduled commercial loading of a newly installed 50-megavolt-ampere (MVA) power transformer at the Lamut–Beckel La Trinidad Substation on 16 January. The P50-million transformer will augment the existing 20-MVA capacity, addressing rising power demand and ensuring a more stable and reliable electricity supply.