The Department of Energy is seeking Congressional support to achieve the total electrification target of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The President said during his State of the Nation Address that his administration would spare no effort to “achieve full household electrification by the end of my term.”
Mr. Marcos said since his assumption in office, almost half a million homes were given access to electricity.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said one of the challenges to total electrification is budget constraints.
“Of course we are limited. That’s why we want to have congressional support because these are chargeable to the budget and we are looking for example at the needs of ARMM [Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao],” he said.
Lotilla said that in all of the regions of the country, the ARMM had the lowest electrification or energization rate of 44 percent.
“The total households that do not have access to power not only in BARMM but in the whole country can easily…If that’s around 800,000 households, times an average of five, then that’s a considerable 5 million people in the country that do not have access to electrification. And that’s what the President is concerned about,” the energy chief said.
He said the President’s target is to have 100-percent electrification by 2028, and the Department of Energy had started preparations to achieve this.
“So many of the things you’ve seen are part of the roadmap for achieving this, like the micro grid systems, distributed RE systems and quite a number of a things,” Lotilla said.
Republic Act No. 11646 or the Microgrid Systems Act aims to accelerate electrification and ensure the provision of quality, reliable and secure electricity service in unserved and underserved areas.
Lotilla said that even if government wanted to fast-track total electrification, “realistically given the levels of budget we are getting, then we have given ourselves up to 2028.”
National Electrification Administration chief Antonio Mariano Almeda earlier vowed to attain 100-percent electrification by 2028.
“Challenge accepted. By 2028, 100-percent electrification. Double time. My administration will always be anchored in the principle of good governance. I will make sure that the Sitio Electrification Program funds are utilized well,” Almeda said in January.