New consumer electricity connections increase in Jan-May

More rural side customers were energized in the first five months of the year, keeping the National Electrification Administration (NEA) on track to meeting its new household connections target this year.

Latest data from the NEA Information Technology and Communication Services Department (ITCSD) showed an average of 44,287 new consumer connections registered for the period January to May, a 10 percent increase monthly.

This brought the total number of new consumer connections to 221,434 or 48 percent of the 460,000 target for the year.

According to the NEA ITCSD status of energization report, this means an additional 1.03 million Filipinos in the countryside gained access to electricity.

Overall, the level of consumer connections within the coverage areas of electric cooperatives (ECs) nationwide has reached 12.408 million.

“In our pursuit of rural development through nationwide electrification, the status of energization is the primary indicator of the government’s initiatives towards this end,” said NEA ITCSD department manager Roderick Padua.

Of the 121 ECs across the country, the Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aneco) was identified by the NEA ITCSD as the top contributor to the new consumer connections registered from January to May with 11,177 new electrified households.

It was followed by the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Socoteco II) with 5,262 new connections, the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) with 5,007, the Batangas II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Batelec II) with 5,001, and the Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative Inc. (Sukelco) with 4,853 households.

Other major contributor ECs were the following: Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cenpelco) with 4,624 new consumer connections, Albay Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aleco) with 4,329, Cotabato Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cotelco) with 4,100, Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aselco) with 3,612, and Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative Inc. (Panelco) III with 3,238 new connections.

The NEA, which oversees 121 ECs nationwide, is mandated to implement the total electrification of the country.

The state-run agency is targeting to energize 100 percent of rural households nationwide by 2020, ahead of the 2022 target set by government through the Department of Energy (DOE).

It plans to achieve this goal through its Strategized Total Electrification Program (STEP), a holistic approach combining the merits of sitio energization, barangay line enhancement and household electrification programs of the government under a unified strategy to achieve the total electrification goal.