The proposed partnership between South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II) and IGNITE Power will hinge on a September plebiscite, when around 200,000 member-consumer-owners will decide whether the cooperative can proceed with a deal intended to modernize its power distribution system.

The vote represents the next major hurdle for the proposed Conditional Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) after some 32,000 MCOs endorsed the proposal during the cooperative’s annual general membership assembly last 25 July.

For the partnership to be finalized, however, it must secure the approval of a majority—or 50 percent plus one—of all qualified MCOs, consistent with the requirements of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended.

The requirement means the September vote will determine whether SOCOTECO II can move forward with IGNITE Power as part of its long-term strategy to rehabilitate and modernize the distribution network serving General Santos, Sarangani and parts of South Cotabato.

The plebiscite will be conducted over four weekends— 5 to 6, 12 to 13, 19 to 20 and 26 to 27 September—to provide qualified members across the cooperative’s franchise area more opportunities to vote.

“The Board deemed it necessary to hold the voting over several weekends to give all qualified member-consumers ample opportunity to participate in this historic decision,” SOCOTECO II President Elenito Senit said on Wednesday.

To recall, the cooperative has reported accumulated financial losses of P2.1 billion as of December 2025, while system losses have risen to 14 percent, resulting in P40 million in monthly losses. It also faces aging distribution facilities and the need for substantial investments to rehabilitate and expand its network.

Under the proposed partnership, IGNITE Power would inject fresh capital into the cooperative to fund the rehabilitation and modernization of the distribution system.

The proposed program includes upgrading and adding substations, replacing aging distribution lines and equipment, expanding network capacity, deploying modern distribution technologies and improving customer service systems to meet growing electricity demand within SOCOTECO II’s franchise area.

Ahead of the vote, SOCOTECO II has set 6 August as the cut-off date for eligible voters.

The cooperative will also validate and cleanse its membership records to remove duplicate accounts, deceased members and inactive accounts to establish the official list of qualified voters.

SOCOTECO II’s Board has created an Overall Plebiscite Committee to formulate and adopt voting rules and guidelines and supervise the conduct of the plebiscite.

The committee is also leading an Information, Education and Communication campaign that began 7 August across all districts to explain the provisions of the proposed agreement and allow MCOs to make an informed decision.

The Board earlier adopted resolutions from the annual general membership assembly, including Board Resolution No. 104 authorizing the signing of the Conditional JVA and the conduct of the plebiscite.