The National Electrification Administration (NEA) surpassed its electricity consumer connections goal for 2020 by 62,905 or 14 percent despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency’s Information Technology and Communication Services Department (ITCSD) reported that the electric cooperatives (ECs) have connected over 522,905 new electricity consumers last year, 14 percent higher than the 460,000 corporate target.
The 2020 figures brought the total consumer connections to 14,253,053 within the franchise areas of the 121 ECs nationwide.
“This achievement reflects the hard work and commitment of the NEA and the 121 electric cooperatives to provide and extend electricity services to Filipinos living in rural areas even though faced with challenges posed by the pandemic,” NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said.
The 2020 figures brought the total consumer connections to 14,253,053 within the franchise areas of the 121 ECs nationwide. The number of unserved consumers in the rural areas is now down to 1,550,510 based on the 2015 census, the NEA ITCSD said.
Broken down, the NEA data revealed that 47 percent of the total consumer connections, or 6.682 million, are located in Luzon; 27 percent or 3.788 million are in the Visayas; and 26 percent or 3.783 million are in Mindanao.
The data also showed that Batangas II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BATELEC II) contributed most to the overall accomplishment with 341,252 connections, followed by South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SOCOTECO II) with 274,239 connections.
Broken down, the NEA data revealed that 47 percent of the total consumer connections, or 6.682 million, are located in Luzon; 27 percent or 3.788 million are in the Visayas; and 26 percent or 3.783 million are in Mindanao.
Also in the top five ECs are Albay Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ALECO) with 273,668 connections, Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CENPELCO) with 268,830, and Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CENECO) with 247,744 connections.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental ranked first among the provinces with highest number of consumer connections at 634,092, followed by Pangasinan at 580,805, then Batangas at 525,229, Cebu at 523,109, and Leyte at 474,259 consumer connections.