Senator Win Gatchalian said the approval of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for next year ensures significant progress in the government’s rural electrification program.
“We hope that the budget allocation for the National Electrification Administration for 2025 would help push the rural electrification program to its completion in the next couple of years,” Gatchalian said in reaction to the signing by the President of the 2025 GAA which authorizes an expenditure program of P6.352 trillion.
Under the approved budget, NEA has been allotted a government subsidy of P1.87 billion to provide electricity for approximately 22,000 households through the implementation of its strategic rural electrification.
NEA had earlier claimed that inadequate government subsidy has been the biggest challenge to the attainment of 100% rural electrification.
According to Gatchalian, an estimated 4.214 million households throughout the country were still without electricity as of June 2023. The government’s target is to reach total electrification in the country by 2028.
While the five-year plan to achieve 100% electrification by 2028 has been progressing, the government needs to ensure that such a target will be achieved through budgetary support, the senator emphasized.
According to him, economic development, particularly in rural areas, would be difficult to achieve without electricity as it is a major factor in attracting investments and in the operations even of micro and small business enterprises. “Ang kuryente ay isang pangunahing pangangailangan para sa iba’t ibang negosyo na kailangan natin sa mga malalayong lugar para makapagbigay ng trabaho at para sa tuloy-tuloy na pag-unlad ng ekonomiya, he said.
As of 2023, electrification in the country stood at 89%, rising to 91% this year. Based on the five-year electrification plan, the government aims to increase coverage to 94% by 2025, 97% by 2026 and achieve 100% by 2027.
As of August 2024, NEA was able to energize 1,153 sitios through government subsidy provided the previous year.
