DOE plans to accelerate total electrification within H1

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) targets to come out with a strategic plan to accelerate total electrification in the country within the first half.

The DOE said electrification at the household level in the country as of June last year stood at 95.8 percent, with 971,022 households nationwide still unserved.

Luzon recorded the highest electrification at 98.8 percent followed by Visayas at 97.2 percent.

Mindanao’s household electrification registered at 87.1 percent.

DOE data showed that the number of unserved households in Mindanao was the highest at 681,092, followed by Luzon at 165,793 and Visayas at 124,137.

To accelerate total electrification in the country, the DOE said it would formulate a National Total Electrification Roadmap (NTER) that will serve as a comprehensive national strategic plan covering the various local total electrification roadmap and the distribution development plans.

“The NTER is targeted to be released within the first half of 2023 and will serve as the basis for the updated household electrification targets that will be incorporated in the Philippine Energy Plan,” the agency said.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla earlier said the DOE intends to accelerate the electrification of households nationwide given the number of households still unserved in the country, especially in Mindanao.

“The government is still guided by the objective of providing electricity access to inadequately served areas,” the DOE said.

“This will be carried out through the continued implementation of the total electrification project to be undertaken together with the National Electrification Administration (NEA),” it said.

Given the opportunities and challenges in energizing the rest of the underserved areas of the country, Lotilla has said the DOE is counting on the NEA to be the agency’s committed partner in realizing the government’s vision of total electrification.

NEA is mandated to carry out the total electrification of the country on an area coverage basis, with the 121 electric cooperatives as the implementing arm.