Electric cooperatives’ sales up 4% in 2018

Published January 22, 2019, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco

https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/01/22/electric-cooperatives-sales-up-4-in-2018/

The sales of the country’s electric cooperatives (ECs) had been higher by approximately 4.0 percent last year, according to the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the government-run agency supervising the rural power utilities.

In the electrification agency’s report, it noted that the ECs’ sales volumes had climbed to 5,136 gigawatt-hours within April to June last year.

The jump in EC sales, according to NEA, had shored up the operating revenues of the power utilities within that financial review period by 14 percent to P52.616 billion vis-à-vis the first quarter 2018 outcome of P46.126 billion.

“This brings the total operating revenues of the electric cooperatives from January to June 2018 to P98.742 billion,” the electrification agency stressed.

Volume sales-wise, that was basically an uptrend from 4, 924 GWh on the first quarter sales of the same year, NEA has indicated.

Of the sales expansion, the bulk was still logged in Luzon grid – summing up to 2,610 GWh within that three-month stretch in 2018; then Mindanao with 1,393 GWh; while Visayas logged 1,133 GWh.
As emphasized by Engineer Roderick Padua, manager of NEA’s Information Technology and Communications Services Department, the increase in sales had been traced to the acceleration in the electricity consumption of the residential end-users.

Of the total figure, residential subscribers accounted for the 52 percent or 2,670 GWh; and correspondingly followed by the commercial segment with 22 percent share in consumption or 1,130 GWh.

NEA further pointed out that industrial customers cornered the remaining 19-percen in the pie which had been at equivalent 976 GWh; while public buildings logged 5.0 percent share or 257 GWh. The marginal 2.0 percent or 103 GWh accounted for the consumption of other end-users.

The government-run electrification agency further noted that “51% of revenues was derived from residential consumers, 20 percent from commercial; 15 percent from industrial; 5.0 percent from public buildings and 9.0 percent from other consumers.”

The technical and financial operations of the ECs are carefully being watched and monitored as they are now flourishing off-takers of power capacity – as the restructured electricity market advances on its state of deregulation.