Electric cooperatives under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) were able to pare down their system losses or unbilled electricity during the first half of 2019.
NEA said in a statement such improvement resulted in double-digit growths in overall energy sales as well as overall revenues.
Systems loss refers to electricity that did not turn in revenues because it was wasted either through physical resistance of the distribution cables or by illegal taps.
Data from the NEA Information Technology and Communication Services Department showed that system losses improved from 11.57 percent in the first semester of 2018 to 10.38 percent in the same period this year.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has set the system loss cap of 12 percent of supply for electric cooperatives. This means that such losses may be passed on to the consumers through their monthly electricity bills.
Of the 121 cooperatives under NEA, 96 met the system loss cap, including 39 cooperatives that were able to keep the number at a single digit.
Also, there were 15 cooperatives that exceeded the ceiling at 13 percent to 20 percent. However, this was just half of the 31 cooperatives counted in the first half of 2018.
“This is a clear indicator that electric cooperatives are fully committed and ready to compete with other power distribution utilities in the country,” NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said. “Lower system losses contribute to a reduction in power rates.”
In terms of minimizing system losses, the best performers were Aurora Electric Cooperative (2.03 percent), Batanes Electric Cooperative (2.79 percent), Leyte II Electric Cooperative (2.91 percent), South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (2.91 percent) and Misamis Oriental I Rural Electric Service Cooperative (2.99 percent).
Total energy sales rose 13 percent year-on-year to 11,397 gigawatt-hours (gWh) from 10,060 gWh. Total gross revenue went up by 14 percent to P112.1 billion from P98.7 billion.