The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is set to hold various month-long activities this August to mark its 49th founding anniversary and the 9th National Electrification Awareness Month (NEAM).
Under Proclamation Order No. 1743, NEAM is celebrated annually in August to recognize the significant role of the government’s electrification programs in nation building. The theme this year is “Electricity Access for All: A Platform for Nation Building.”
NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said this year’s celebration will highlight the invaluable contributions of the electrification sector to nation building.
“The NEA and the ECs are cognizant of their crucial roles in nation building, thus we are doubling down on our commitment to help improve the lives of Filipinos, particularly in the countryside, through rural electrification,” Masongsong said.
“While we have made significant strides in bringing power to remote and far-flung communities, we know that more has to be done, and we are up to that herculean challenge,” the NEA chief added.
Since 1969, the Rural Electrification Program has energized 78 provinces, 90 cities, 1,385 municipalities, 36,055 barangays and 123,134 sitios.
Activities lined up for this year’s NEAM celebration and NEA’s 49th Founding Anniversary include a two-day NEA-EC Consultative Conference from August 6 to 7 with House Committee on Energy Chairman Lord Allan Jay Velasco and Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as guests of honor.
Also on August 7, key officials of 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) will visit the Senate to seek support for proposed legislation that will have a significant impact on the EC sector and its member-consumer-owners (MCOs).
At the same time, the NEA will be holding an activity designed to promote safety and wellness among the agency employees from August 23 to 24.
The month-long celebration will be capped by a national clearing day on August 31, to be held simultaneously throughout the country by 121 ECs, to highlight the importance of MCO involvement in line maintenance as the most effective way of addressing system losses, precluding distribution outages, and improving services.
“We are doubling down on our commitment to help improve the lives of Filipinos, particularly in the countryside, through rural electrification.”
The NEA is a government-owned and-controlled corporation mandated to carry out the total electrification of the country on an area coverage basis. Since 1969, the Rural Electrification Program has energized 78 provinces, 90 cities, 1,385 municipalities, 36,055 barangays and 123,134 sitios benefiting 12.408 million households as of May 31, 2018.
The Rural Electrification Program is part of the national government’s efforts to reach out to the Filipinos, especially the poorest of the poor living in the remote and far-flung communities across the country.
