The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said the successful implementation of its Integration of Productive Uses of Renewable Energy (I-PURE) program in Mindanao can help in further improving the electrification rate of the entire island, which is currently at 80 percent.
I-PURE Mindanao is being implemented 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.
The project has energized at least 3,077 off-grid households out of the 5,261 targets through photovoltaic mainstreaming under the franchise areas of Cotabato Electric Cooperative and South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative.
NEA said the remaining 2,184 electrification projects under I-PURE are ongoing through the Barangay Line Enhancement Program under the service area of Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative.
Antonio Mariano Almeda, NEA administrator, said in a statement the entire I-PURE program and other similar projects, would bring in opportunities that will address the challenge of achieving 100 percent total electrification in the country by 2028.
Almeda said provinces within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) would be where additional help is needed to push electrification efforts.
Latest energization figures from the NEA Database Management and Program Control Division show that BARMM electric cooperatives (ECs) are currently at a 40-percent electrification rate, covering 282,330 households out of 703,499 potential connections. – Jed Macapagal
