The end of the long dark tunnel is certainly not coming yet for consumers in the off-grid areas, instead this is seen worsening starting February 1 this year, according to the Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) of state-run National Power Corporation (NPC) which has been servicing these domains.

As announced by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), which is the agency exercising supervision over the electric cooperatives (ECs) – including those in the off-grid areas, there was already a notice issued by NPC that it “will implement the reduction of electricity service in SPUG areas due to fuel supply shortage and the delay in universal charge for missionary electrification (UC-ME) subsidy payment.”

The curtailment of power service will mean longer brownout-hours or a full-blown power crisis that will torment consumers in these areas, which have been experiencing electricity service disruptions for a long time.

The UCME, in particular, refers to a separate line item in the electric bills being collected from all ratepayers and that in turn is funneled as cost subsidy to the electricity service being extended to the SPUG areas.

The subsidy mechanism for these off-grid jurisdictions is highly necessary because electricity rates in these areas typically hover at staggering P14 to more than P20 per kilowatt hour.

NPC, for its part, is hamstrung with delayed cost recoveries for UCME that have been pending with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for years already – hence, the government-run power company is now practically incapacitated when it comes to required funding for the purchase of fuels that it will utilize on running the thermal plants serving the power needs of SPUG areas.

NEA conveyed that during a ‘consultative meeting’ among relevant energy agencies, “NPC apprised the attendees that they already have a crisis management and communication plan which was approved by the National Power Board to address the supply curtailment and the delay in UCME subsidy payment.”

While contingency measures are being sorted, NPC President Fernando Martin Roxas indicated that their company is already availing of P5.0 billion loan, which is solely intended for its required fuel purchases.

The bad news on that proposed remedy, however, is that: the loan release may only be expected by May this year – which is three months away from when power supply curtailment already needs to be resorted to by February.

The option pleaded to by NPC, NEA noted, is on the possibility that the electric cooperatives would be advancing the payments needed for fuel procurements.

Relative to that development, NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda has directed Atty. Omar Mayo, deputy administrator for technical services of the agency, “to coordinate with NPC regarding the advance payment of the ECs as part of the short-term solution to the problem.”

Additionally, the NEA chief “asked the ECs to meet with their respective local government officials to aid in the advance payment,” and for the ECs “to inform their member-consumer-owners about the looming power crisis.”