By Lenie Lectura - March 2, 2020
The National Electrification
Administration (NEA) has registered 586,144 additional consumer connections
last year, 27 percent higher than its target of 460,000 for 2019.
The new connections resulted in
achieving an energization level of 95 percent under the franchise areas of
different electric cooperatives nationwide. NEA oversees the operation of all
ECs in the country.
NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong
said the overall level of energization within the coverage areas of nonprofit
distribution utilities nationwide is at 95 percent, or 13,625,857 connections
out of the 14,335,784 potential consumers based on the 2015 census.
Forty-seven percent of these
consumer connections, or 6.429 million, are located in Luzon; 27 percent, or
3.641 million, in Visayas; and 26 percent, or 3.556 million, in Mindanao.
The top 5 provinces with the highest
number of consumer connections are Negros Occidental (616,041); Pangasinan
(561,052); Batangas (512,242); Cebu (506,580); and Leyte (452,531).
Masongsong said surpassing the
target helps keep the state-run electrification agency, together with its 121 partner
ECs across the country, on pace toward achieving the 100-percent energization
target by 2022.
“For this year to 2022, the
challenge is the energization of the remaining 1,874,709 unserved consumers
within the coverage areas of 121 electric cooperatives across the country,” he
said.
The NEA earlier said its national
government subsidy allocation would prioritize ECs with low electrification
rates—particularly those at 74 percent and below—that have good project
liquidation performance.
ECs in areas with problems on peace
and order, financial liquidity, and those classified as “medium” and below
would also be evaluated to be qualified for specific electrification- related
projects.
“Electric cooperatives with
energization levels ranging 95 percent and above, based on the 2015 census
without growth rate, shall be the least priority for allocation,” said
Masongsong.
The so-called better-performing ECs
will be required to utilize their internally generated funds; scout potential
private investors for joint ventures; tap international, and local, grants and
programs; and include in their capital expenditure project application to the
Energy Regulatory Commission other necessary programs for development.
For this year, the NEA has been
given P2.3-billion national government subsidy for rural electrification
projects based on the 2020 General Appropriations Act. Bulk of the amount or
P1.399 billion was allocated for the continuing implementation of the Sitio
Electrification Program.
Solar
power
The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
said solar power is fast becoming a solution to address electricity needs in
rural and remote areas across Asia and the Pacific region.
In an Asian Development Blog, ADB
Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Chief of Energy Sector
Group Yongping Zhai said this is one of the reasons for the region’s good
progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on access to
electricity.
However, Zhai said solar power is
still trailing behind as a clean- energy cooking source which is also part of
the SDGs—universal access to clean cooking.
“The power of the sun should be put
to work as a clean-energy cooking source in Asia,” said Zhai.
Zhai said the International Energy
Agency, 1.7 billion people in Asia and the Pacific still use solid fuels, such
as fuel wood, crop wastes, charcoal, coal, or even human and animal waste.
He said the World Health
Organization (WHO) warned against the impact of the use of these fuels on human
health, particularly women and young children who spend more time at home.
Citing WHO, Zhai said indoor smoke
in rural homes can have 100 times more fine particles than acceptable levels.
Zhai said this has to change not
only because of the serious implications on health but also on the budget of
households.
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