The National Electrification Administration is seeking P29.54 billion in the next five years to achieve its full electrification target by the end of the Marcos administration.
“Taking the cue from the Energy Secretary, we are mandated to oversee and implement total electrification, and I set the goal of total electrification by 2028. Hopefully, we will be extended P29 billion until 2028,” NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda told reporters on Thursday.
“This is something that I have to tell the Congress that’s why I have to come up with a transparent program to gain their confidence. Progress will not happen if there is no power,” he said.
To date, NEA still needs to power up roughly 600,000 on-grid households and 23,000 off-grid households, or roughly about 1.16 million customers.
Of the total budget requirement, Almeda said P23.01 billion will come from the national government.
The remainder can be sourced by tapping the subsidy funds from Energy Regulation 1-94’s counterpart funds from local government units, grants and donations from local and foreign institutions, and Internally Generated Funds for electrification.
Remote areas targeted
Likewise, financial support for the electrification thrust can also be generated by allowing qualified third parties to enter into joint venture partnerships through private sector participation in off-grid missionary areas.
Every after administration, electrifying the entire country, especially the far-flung areas remain a challenge. But Almeda said the answer to this problem could be just transparency and accountability.
“The delay, I believe, was due to a combination of many reasons. Looking back and taking into consideration the implementation process in the past, the accountabilities should be transparent. I have seen in the past implementation that there have been a lot of loopholes in terms of liquidation. The electric cooperatives should realize that this is public money,” Almeda explained.