Electric co-ops need P1B to cover damage caused by ‘Tisoy’

Close to P1 billion is needed to help electric cooperatives recover from the damage caused by Typhoon “Tisoy” on their distribution facilities, according to the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said in a statement he had appealed to the Department of Budget and Management to release funds for the rehabilitation and restoration of the electricity services of 27 cooperatives that sustained severe damage.

Based on NEA monitoring, damage to power distribution infrastructure has reached about P900 million as of Dec. 17.

Sorsogon 1 Electric Cooperative reported the worst damage, assessed at P137.5 million, followed by Albay Electric Cooperative at P134.5 million, and Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative at P123.4 million.

“The cooperatives’ internally generated fund cannot cover such funding requirement since their rate structure as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) does not include any provision for capital expenditure requirement attributable to the damage caused by calamities,” Masongsong said.

He added that NEA could not yet implement the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF), created by law in 2018, because the initial P750-million fund has not yet been provided.

Based on republic act, funding for the ECERF is to be sourced from the budget of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund.

Also, Masongsong said restoration efforts were on track to bring back electricity to 80 percent of affected areas by Dec. 20.NEA monitored an estimated 514,570 households in 17 provinces in Luzon and the Visayas that were still without electricity as of Dec. 17. Meanwhile, power services have been fully restored to 180 typhoon-hit cities and towns.