Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles thanked the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) operating nationwide for providing and completing 14 million electricity connections to consumers all over the country, calling their effort “a tangible success in the government’s rural electrification program.”
In a message delivered during the online NEA-EC Communicators’ Conference held on March 6, 2021, Nograles congratulated NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong for achieving the feat despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic and numerous natural calamities faced by the rural electrification sector in 2020.
As of December 2020, the overall number of consumer connections has reached 14.252 million in franchise areas served by the 121 ECs.
“For the past five decades, NEA has played a crucial role in improving lives in the countryside through its sustained electrification efforts. It has literally lit up the lives of millions of Filipinos,” the Malacañang official said.
According to the latest data from the NEA Information Technology and Communication Services Department (ITCSD) as of December 2020, the overall number of consumer connections has reached 14.252 million in franchise areas served by the 121 ECs.
Nograles, during his time as Davao legislator before his appointment to the Cabinet, lobbied for increases in budget allocations for NEA’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) which formed part of the Duterte administration’s economic development agenda.
During the online event, he also emphasized the role played by ECs in serving the electricity requirements in resettlement sites built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) as part of housing programs for Typhoon Yolanda victims.
The Cabinet Secretary made particular mention of the Pope Francis Village in Tacloban City which has finally been connected to the power distribution lines of the Leyte II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (LEYECO II).
Nograles, during his time as Davao legislator before his appointment to the Cabinet, lobbied for increases in budget allocations for NEA’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) which formed part of the Duterte administration’s economic development agenda.
“The free housing that the government has given free to Yolanda victims would not be useful without power and electricity. Our ECs have been the crucial link in providing that service,” he explained.
IATF-Yolanda, which Nograles chairs, has turned over 44,106 housing units in different regions in the Visayas through the NHA’s Yolanda Permanent Housing Projects. Region 8 has received 16,449 units, Region 6 has 24,493 and Region 7 has 3,164.