121 electric co-ops asked to fast-track liquidation of past projects

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is resolving issues that impede the objective of providing electricity to all households nationwide in five years.

NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda is appealing to 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) nationwide to fast-track the liquidation of their previously funded projects to secure another budget for the Sitio Electrification Program.

“If they still have any pending liquidation, funds cannot be released to them so I want to address this. Liquidation should be timely, transparent and accounted for,” said Almeda.

The agency earlier said it would seek the support of Congress to secure a P29.5-billion budget over the next five years to energize all sitios by 2028.

Almeda said if approved, the bulk of the proposed budget allocation or more than P20 billion would be used to energize households connected to the main grid and the remaining P9 billion would go to providing electricity to households in off-grid areas or those not serviced by the power grids.

He said the cost of energizing a sitio had increased to P2.1 million per sitio, an increment of 40 percent from P1.5 million previously, due to various factors such as the increase in the cost of raw materials like steel, site development, logistics and labor.

“Well, this is something I have to say to Congress first. That’s why I’m trying to come up with a transparent, effective program as far as implementation is concerned, so I can gain their trust and confidence that these funds will be used accordingly, according to what and how it was intended to be,” said Almeda.

“I believe if we can present to Congress, if we can present to the president or through DOE (Department of Energy) that we have streamlined the monitoring and implementation of the sitio electrification plan, having set the target at that, then I think Congress will be mindful to support this national program of the government, of the president that there has to be a 100 percent electrification program,” he added.

For 2023, the government earmarked about P1.63 billion for the electrification 1,085 sitios: 350 sitios in Luzon, 336 in Visayas and 399 in Mindanao.of

Some 10,212 sitios in on-grid areas and another 23,000 households in off-grid areas are yet to be energized from 2023 to 2028. According to the NEA chief, the target of total electrification may be adjusted as the country’s population grows.

So far, 6,888 sitios benefited from the energization efforts between 2017 and 2022, the agency noted.

Almeda said the agency has been receiving a budget of around P1.6 billion annually since 2017, which would be able to cover only 100,000 sitios.

Amid the limited allocation, NEA intends to achieve total electrification by securing counterpart funds from the local government units. If needed, it wants to consider the participation of the private sector in off-grid and unviable areas, and accessing grants and donations from local and foreign institutions, among others.