NEA urges ECs to speed up rural electrification

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Electrification Administration (NEA) is pushing the country’s 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) to increase efforts toward the completion of the government’s rural electrification program with several measures identified to meet the 2022 target.

During the 41st Annual General Membership Meeting (AGMM) of Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (PHILRECA), NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to total electrification and stressed the ECs’ key role in attaining rural electrification targets.

“We have a major role to play in nation-building. Right now, the task at hand is the fulfillment of the Rural Electrification Program,” he said.

“Rural electrification is not just about construction of lines reaching the last household in the EC franchise area. It is about social and economic development in the countryside. It is about sustainable rural development through rural electrification,” the NEA chief said.

From 2011 to 2019, the state-run agency, through its partnership with the ECs, has energized a total of 38,357 sitios across the country, NEA deputy administrator for technical services Artis Nikki Tortola said. To date, about 12,467 sitios, however, still have no electricity.

“Latest data would show that we still need to energize 12,467 sitios. While the agency recommends (electrification) targets to be budgeted by the Department of Budget and Management, only a meager allocation is being given to the agency,” Tortola said.

Based on the 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP), only P1.6 billion is appropriated for the sitio electrification projects. The amount, however, will only benefit 1,085 sitios in the country.

Masongsong said that while NEA still needs additional government subsidy to implement the Sitio Electrification Program (SEP), the agency has already identified several measures in order to meet the full energization target by 2022.

These include accessing the Energy Regulation 1-94 program, availing foreign grants and donations, using EC’s internally generated funds, or entering into a qualified third party agreement.

“Under the Qualified Third Party program, electric cooperatives can waive a part of their unviable areas to qualified private investors,” Masongsong said, adding that if there are no takers, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) may implement these projects through missionary electrification.

The NEA administrator said other options are allowing the power coops to implement the electrification program as part of their capital expenditure projects plan, or tapping renewable energy sources to bring electricity to areas still in the dark.

Aside from the SEP and Barangay Line Enhancement Program (BLEP), the NEA also has other ongoing projects to energize areas that cannot be connected to the grid.

The NEA’s Strategized Household Electrification Program (SHEP) targets dispersed households located in far-flung areas with no access to the grid through the use of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Under this program, the NEA has identified 5,039 household beneficiaries in the coverage areas of Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative Inc. (BISELCO), Camarines Sur IV Electric Cooperative Inc. (CASURECO IV), Iloilo III Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO III), Cotabato Electric Cooperative Inc. (COTELCO), and Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. (ZANECO).

The NEA’s Strategized Sitio Electrification Program (SSEP), on the other hand, targets isolated sitios that cannot be energized by either sitio electrification or barangay line enhancement programs.

Tortola said SSEP involves two components: the conduct of a feasibility study and the development of a hybrid microgrid system.

“A feasibility study is necessary to identify which renewable energy resource is the most advantageous to use,” he said.

Under the project, the NEA has identified three ECs that are currently undergoing feasibility studies namely the Quezon II Electric Cooperative Inc. (QUEZELCO II), South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc. (SOCOTECO II), and ZANECO.

Aside from these projects, the NEA is also implementing a Schools Electrification Project with the Batangas II Electric Cooperative Inc. (BATELEC II), which aims to provide 10 schools with solar panels installed within the school’s premises and connected to the distribution system through the Net Metering Program.