MANILA, Philippines — The National Electrification Administration (NEA) expects the electrification rate in Mindanao to improve following the successful implementation of the Integration of Productive Uses of Renewable Energy (I-PURE) program.
I-PURE Mindanao was accomplished through a grant from the European Union-Access to Sustainable Energy Program in partnership with the Department of Energy, the Mindanao Development Authority, and various local government units.
NEA said the projects have so far energized at least 3,077 off-grid households out of the 5,261 target through photovoltaic mainstreaming under the franchise areas of Cotabato Electric Cooperative and South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative.
It said the remaining 2,184 electrification projects are still ongoing through the Barangay Line Enhancement Program under the service area of Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative Inc.
“As I have stated before, power precedes progress. With the various components of this endeavor, we are able to provide not only access to electricity, but also a means of livelihood to the communities here in Mindanao,” NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said.
According to NEA, electrification rate of Mindanao is currently at 80 percent.
Electrification rate of electric cooperatives in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), meanwhile, is currently at 40 percent, covering 282,330 households out of 703,499 potential connections.
“It’s a big challenge for us in NEA. It’s a big challenge for the 121 electric cooperatives. But I always tell my colleagues in NEA and the electric cooperatives: challenge is accepted. We will do this and one of the areas of concern, really, is in the island of Mindanao,” Almeda said.
Almeda said the provinces within the BARMM, in particular, is where NEA would need the help.
He said the success of the I-PURE projects is considered an important milestone in the history of the rural electrification program
“It is my hope to implement more projects like this,” he said.
NEA has committed to achieving total electrification of the country by 2028, which President Marcos has vowed to push within his term.
The agency 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.