Members of the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II) are scheduled to vote on a proposed joint venture with power firm IGNITE Power in a monthlong plebiscite to decide the future of the cooperative supplying power to General Santos, Sarangani and parts of South Cotabato.
Around 200,000 member-consumer-owners (MCOs) are expected to vote in the upcoming plebiscite, which will be held over four weekends: Sept. 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, and 26-27, 2026.
SOCOTECO II President Elenito Senit said this setup was to ensure the widest possible participation of qualified MCOs throughout the cooperative’s franchise area in line with directives from the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
“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,” Senit said.
At the same time, the board also called on MCOs to cast their votes during the September plebiscite, which would determine whether the cooperative could proceed with its proposed partnership with IGNITE Power as part of its long-term strategy to rehabilitate and modernize the electric distribution system.
Last July 25, some 32,000 MCOs endorsed the cooperative’s proposed Conditional Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with IGNITE Power.
For the partnership to be finalized, a majority (50 percent plus 1) of all qualified MCOs must approve the partnership consistent with the requirements of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended.
It will be recalled that IGNITE Power is proposing to infuse fresh capital into the the electric cooperative to rehabilitate and modernize the distribution system.
The proposed rehabilitation program includes the upgrading and additional substations, replacement of aging distribution lines and equipment, expansion of network capacity, deployment of modern distribution technologies, and improvement of customer service systems to meet the growing electricity demand in its franchise area.
The Board likewise adopted the AGMA resolutions, including the approval of Board Resolution No. 104 authorizing the signing of the Conditional JVA, the conduct of the plebiscite, and the members’ expression of support for the proposed Conditional JVA.
To oversee the voting process, the Board also approved the creation of an Overall Plebiscite Committee (PlebComm), which has been tasked to formulate and adopt the plebiscite rules and guidelines, supervise the conduct of the voting, and lead an extensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign which started last Aug. 7.
The campaign would be conducted across all districts to explain the provisions of the proposed agreement and enable member-consumer-owners to make an informed decision before the plebiscite.
The cooperative also fixed Aug. 6, 2026 as the cut-off date for eligible voters.
Before the plebiscite, a validation and cleansing of membership records will be undertaken to remove duplicate accounts, deceased members, and inactive accounts to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the official voters’ list.
The proposed joint venture comes as SOCOTECO II continues to confront financial and operational challenges.
The electric cooperative has reported consecutive annual financial losses accumulated to P2.1 billion as of December 2025, increasing system losses to 14 percent, which causes P40 million monthly losses, aging distribution facilities, and the need for substantial capital investments to rehabilitate and expand its network.
