THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) said it would be hard to achieve nationwide electrification by 2028 without sufficient funding.
“Assuming funding is not increased, the NEA will be hard-pressed to attain 100-percent electrification by 2028,” said NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda.
NEA was among the agencies that presented a budget briefing before the House Committee on Appropriations, which held deliberations on the proposed P6.325-trillion national budget for 2025.
NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Of the P69.79 billion required for the five-year total electrification drive, Almeda said that P12.59 billion was needed for 2024 and P16.5 billion needed for 2025.
He added that the combined approved budgets for 2024 and 2025 for the Sitio Electrification Program, Barangay Line Enhancement Program, and Photovoltaic Mainstreaming were P3.29 billion.
The coverage of the fund that NEA requested includes the energization of 3,135 sitios, line enhancement of 54 barangay (villages), and installation of 246,000 photovoltaic mainstreaming/solar home system.
Almeda said that in the course of evaluation by the Department of Budget and Management of NEA’s proposal, the amount of subsidies was reduced to P1.86 billion which can only cover the energization of 594 sitios, four villages and 3,700 solar home systems.
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