Electric co-ops’ sales up 11% in Q1
POWER sold by electric cooperatives (ECs) increased by 11 percent to 4,924 gigawatt hours (gWh) in the first quarter of 2018 from 4,417 gWh a year ago, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said on Wednesday.
According to the state-run agency, the residential sector consumed electricity the most at 2,506 gWh, or 51 percent of the total. The commercial sector posted 1,187 gWh (24 percent); industrial sector, 881 gWh (18 percent); public buildings, 268 gWh (5 percent); and the rest, 82 gWh (2 percent).
“These data show an upward trend in the demand for electricity in rural areas [and]a positive surge in economic activity, including those in production, manufacturing and consumer trade being catered to and aptly provided by electric cooperatives in the past year,” NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said in a statement.
“These numbers, while showing a direct correlation between the services of the electrification sector and national growth, also validate our contention that ECs drive the rural economy and continue to immensely contribute to the country’s impressive numbers, despite challenges, as far as economic fundamentals are concerned,” he added.
NEA data showed that Luzon recorded the highest sales at 2,371 gWh, or 48 percent; Mindanao, 1,389 gWh (28 percent); and Visayas, 1,164 gWh (24 percent).
The data come two months after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who leads the Senate energy committed, called for a review of the government’s electrification program to address the power gap in rural areas before 2022.
According to him, 2,399,108 households—1,345,116 of which are in Mindanao—were not connected to the power grid as of December 2017.
To address this gap, the government, through the NEA, is implementing a grid extension program coursed through ECs, and the National Power Corp. is performing missionary electrification in off-grid areas.
The government already allocated P5.45 billion for sitio electrification and P3.97 billion to supply electricity in missionary areas from 2016 to 2018, the senator said.
NEA said 19,740 sitios still do not have access to electricity.
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