HOW DOES THE PHILIPPINES COMPARE WITH ITS REGIONAL PEERS IN PROVIDING A STABLE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY FOR BUSINESSES?

One indicator used in measuring an economy’s ease of doing business is access to a reliable power supply. According to World Bank, the “getting electricity” indicator measures the procedures, time, and cost required for a firm to “obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse.” World Bank noted the indicator “can serve as a useful proxy for the broader performance of the electricity sector” with various studies showing a link between the sector’s performance and the quality of regulatory institutions. Moreover, business owners identified electricity services as the fourth largest obstacle to doing business, according to World Bank’s 2018 Enterprise Survey. In the case of the Philippines, getting an electricity connection involves four procedures that would take 37 days and would cost 24.3% of per capita income on the average. Of the 190 reporting economies in the 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report, the Philippines ranked 32nd in getting electricity, ahead of Indonesia (33rd), Timor-Leste (126th), Laos (144th), Cambodia (146th), Myanmar (148th), and Mongolia (152nd).

NOTES:

*The ranking of economies was based on the “getting electricity” scores, which in turn, were computed as the average for the scores for time, cost, and the quality reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (not shown in the infographic due to space constraints). The overall score excludes the price of electricity.

**The procedures required for a business to obtain a new electrical connection.

***The median number of days to complete all procedures required to obtain a new electricity connection with minimum follow-up and no extra payments. It is calculated in calendar days.

**** All fees and costs associated with completing the procedures to connect a warehouse to electricity are recorded. The cost excludes “bribes or unofficial payments.”