Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi Jr. has praised the work rendered by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), which is nearing the completion of its task to electricity all barangays in the country.

"Before, only our urban areas were advantageously positioned for progress. Through the NEA, the national government gained access to remote rural areas, and we were able to tip the scales in their favor by providing them access to electric power services which boosted their local economies, especially agricultural and industrial sectors," Cusi said in his message Thursday, Aug. 5 during the NEA-Electric Cooperatives’ (NEA-ECs) Consultative Conference, held in celebration of the NEA’s 52nd anniversary.

Cusi cited the NEA's accomplishments, which include providing continuous electricity access to about 14.53 million households--putting the government’s electrification progress at 99.98 percent of barangays. This covers 84 percent of sitios in the ECs' franchise areas.

“Mapabagyo, lindol, o pandemya, hindi nagpapatinag ang NEA at mga kooperatiba sa anumang sakuna o delubyo. Saludo po kami sa kagitingang walang sawa ninyong ipinapamalas sa tawag ng pangangailangan, lalung-lalo na po ng ating mga linemen (No typhoon, earthquake, or pandemic have been able to slow down NEA and the cooperatives. We salute you, especially the linemen, for your continuous display of bravery in this time of need)," the DOE chief said.

For context, NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong told legislators in June 2020 that only 1.8 million households across the Philippines remained unenergized as of Dec. 2019, or before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became an all-encompassing problem of government. Masongsong was present during the consultative conference.

“Alam po nating lahat na hindi pa tapos ang laban. Marami pa po tayong pangangailangang dapat tugunan upang tuluyang maiangat ang ating mga kababayang asa laylayan, at upang mabigyan ng maliwanag na kinabukasan ang mga susunod na henerasyon ng Pilipino (We all know that the fight is far from over. A lot of things still need to be addressed if we are to uplift the lives of those in the fringes of society, and to give the future generations of Filipinos a bright future)," Cusi said.

The 12th National Electrification Awareness Month (NEAM) is also being observed this month.