Badoc: Close to 14,000 member-consumer-owners in Badoc and Pinili town are expected to experience improved power supply following the energization of the Badoc substation of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) on Wednesday. INEC acting general manager Cipriano ‘Perry’ Martinez III stated that the commissioning of the 10 megavolt-amperes (MVA) substation will stabilize power supply in their service areas.
According to Philippines News Agency, Martinez mentioned in his speech during the ceremonial energization of the Badoc substation in Barangay Napu that INEC is moving to the next stage of improving services after reducing the electricity cost in the province. INEC currently has 13,931 member-consumer-owners in Badoc and Pinili. Martinez also highlighted that INEC ranks fourth among the 123 electric cooperatives in the country for having the lowest cost of electricity.
The power demand in Ilocos Norte has increased to over 70 megawatts from a previous minimum of 40 megawatts. This demand is expected
to rise by an additional 7.5 megawatts with the opening of SM City Laoag on May 30, 2025. Virgilio Calajate, president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC), expressed gratitude to INEC on behalf of the 31 barangays of Badoc for resolving their power issues, particularly the complaints regarding damaged appliances due to low voltage.
The Badoc substation, which was inaugurated in 2022, suffered damage from a strong typhoon last year. This incident led INEC to transfer 3.5 megawatts from the Currimao substation to supply District 7, resulting in power outages in the towns of Currimao and Paoay. To ensure reliability and accommodate the growing power demand, INEC is planning a five-year development strategy to add more substations and enhance the capacity of existing substations and transformers, thus preventing issues of overloading or underloading.