Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles commended electric cooperatives (ECs) under the guidance of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for volunteering to help the administration’s nationwide COVID-19 campaign, saying “we’re grateful to our ECs for thinking of national interest first and for being active in their engagement with government.”
Nograles, co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), made the remark in the virtual NEA-EC Communicators’ Conference last March 6, 2021.
“Kailangan natin magtulungan. The active support of 121 electric cooperatives all over the country will greatly ease our efforts at reaching far-flung communities. ECs have also promised to grant use of their multi-purpose facilities and other resources to aid in the vaccination drive,” the Malacañang official added.
The electric coops committed to supporting healthcare professionals, local government units and medical frontliners during the vaccine rollout in their respective coverage areas.
“ECs have also promised to grant use of their multi-purpose facilities and other resources to aid in the vaccination drive,” the Malacañang official added.”
The Cabinet Secretary noted that ECs were crucial in maintaining the steady supply of electricity in the countryside, particularly for the use of crucial infrastructure in hospitals and healthcare facilities during the ongoing pandemic.
He thanked the NEA and ECs for heeding the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to expand the implementation of the “no disconnection” policy for lifeliners or “low-income consumers.”
“The President immediately took action on the Department of Energy’s proposal on the no disconnection measure. For our economically-depressed kababayans, electricity is a lifeline that sustains their everyday living. Government must assist them with their power needs.”
ECs were crucial in maintaining the steady supply of electricity in the countryside, particularly for the use of crucial infrastructure in hospitals and healthcare facilities during the ongoing pandemic.
An advisory released by the DOE last February 5, 2021 directed all distribution utilities including ECs to implement the “no disconnection policy” for those unable to pay their March 2021 electricity bill, as long as their consumption was within the lifeline rate set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the distro utilities’ franchise area.
The ECs for their part reiterated their strong commitment to uphold the health and safety of citizens, stressing that their mobilization of resources would hopefully aid in the Covid-19 vaccination drive, one of the biggest health initiatives in the country’s history.