The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is targeting a 94-percent electricity energization rate in remote households through its partner electric cooperatives this year, up slightly from the 2024.
As of the end of last year, the country’s electrification level reached 91 percent, compared with 89 percent as of end-2023.
Despite its “limited” budget of P3.8 billion, the agency remains optimistic about achieving this target, NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said in a statement on Sunday.
Mindanao provinces are still a top priority for NEA, Almeda said.
NEA was given a state subsidy of P1.627 billion under the recently signed 2025 General Appropriations Act, to electrify some 22,000 households. An additional P200 million was also allotted to the agency as Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund.
The subsidized amount for rural electrification projects was unchanged from the 2024 budget allocation.
The national government also allocated P2 billion for the ongoing photovoltaic mainstreaming project and the Sitio Electrification and Barangay Line Enhancement Programs in the 2025 budget, NEA said.
NEA targets to fully energize the whole country by 2028, which requires funding support from the national government, Almeda said.
“Definitely, with what we have right now, we are doing our best to extend and maximize the supply of electricity in remote areas,” he added.
Contingency measures in franchise areas under electric cooperatives are expected to be in place next May to ensure outage-free, especially during the national and local elections in public schools and polling stations across the country, according to NEA.
