NEA vows more reforms in electric co-ops

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has vowed to continue with its efforts to intensify reforms in the country’s electric cooperatives (ECs) industry.

NEA administrator Edith Bueno said they have conducted conferences and seminars to further strengthen the ties between the government and the private electric cooperatives.

She said enhancing cooperation between the government energy agencies and the ECs will also help in bringing in more benefits to the consumers.

The NEA and the country’s 119 ECs have already extended the benefits of electrification to more than 42 million Filipinos in 33,558 barangays nationwide as of end-February 2006.

Bueno said more than 600 participants from the 119 ECs nationwide and the leaders of the Rural Electrification (RE) gathered recently for a three-day National Conference on Power Management Reforms and Recognition.

"The conference aims to strengthen the partnership of NEA and the ECs, to update and inform the ECs on NEA program status, policies and directions, and the latest development, trends and prospects in the deregulated electricity industry. Thus interactions and dialogues between and among the delegates are given prime importance," Bueno said.

An awarding ceremony highlighted the three-day conference. The program  included an RE Milestone Award to Cebu I Electric Cooperative Inc. (CEBECO I), Cebu II Electric Cooperative Inc. (CEBECO II) and Cebu III Electric Cooperative Inc. (CEBECO III) for attaining consistent total excellent performance and sharing all its resources for the further development and enhancement of the level of performance of the partners in the industry.

Meantime, the Bohol I Electric Cooperative Inc. (BOHECO I) leads the list of NEA awardees, receiving the Emmanuel N. Pelaez Award for the Best Electric Cooperative of the Year, an award named in honor of the former Vice President, the acknowledged "Father of the Rural Electrification Program".  

The EC of the Year Award is given to the cooperative that is the best under each of the 5 EC classifications, having garnered the highest score in their own respective groupings. These ECs are Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. (DASURECO) and Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO I) for the mega-large ECs; Tarlac II Electric Cooperative Inc. (TARELCO II) and MORESCO I for the extra-large ECs; Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative Inc. (PROSIELCO) for the medium ECs; and Batanes Electric Cooperative Inc. (BATANELCO) for the small ECs.

Five Ecs, namely, Peninsula Electric Cooperative Inc. (PENELCO), CEBECO I, CEBECO II, CEBECO III and MORESCO I, are the recipient of the Administrator’s Award. This award is bestowed on ECs which have gone beyond the mandate of electrifying the countryside and have taken their advocacy in the propagation of the rural electrification program in terms of continuing education, providing the necessary assistance to others in terms of rehabilitation; initiated and shared best practices, thus promoting the paramount interest of member-consumers and spearheaded cooperation efforts among ECs in time of calamities and other needs.