Government-run National Electrification Administration (NEA) will be accelerating household electrification at various provinces straddling the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through collaborative tie-ups with development-partners like the Spanish Embassy and the European Union-Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (EU-ASEP).

NEA emphasized that by working together with partners, it was able to gain traction on viable implementation of the Integration of Productive Uses of Renewable Energy (I-PURE) program in key areas in Mindanao.

“NEA looks forward to improving the electrification rate of the entire island, which is currently at 80 percent,” the electrification agency noted.

At the BARMM area alone, figures culled from the NEA Database Management and Program Control Division indicated that the scale of energization posted by the electric cooperatives (ECs) in the region hovers at 40% - and that covered 282,330 households.

By far, according to data from the government-run electrification entity, that still pales in comparison to the 703,499 targeted connections.

NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda asserted that the success gained by the I-PURE program so far helped in advancing energization initiatives in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province, being the most recent beneficiary of the electrification undertaking.

The NEA is pinning hopes on the I-PURE initiative as one of the key pillars that would potentially underpin the 100% electrification target being advanced by the Marcos administration.

“It’s a big challenge for us in NEA. It’s a big challenge for the 121 electric cooperatives (ECs). But I always tell my colleagues in NEA and the electric cooperatives: challenge is accepted. We will do this and one of the areas of concern, really, is in the island of Mindanao,” he stressed.

Almeda specified that the BARMM provinces are those that would critically “need the help of all the general managers in successful Mindanao power co-ops,” as he further challenged them that they would have to “work double time.”

Via the I-PURE program, the NEA chief cited that at least 3,077 off-grid households recently gained access to electricity services – primarily in the areas served by the Cotabato Electric Cooperative, Inc. (COTELCO) and South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SOCOTECO II); vis-à-vis target of 5,261 connections through the photovoltaic (PV) mainstreaming venture spearheaded by the agency.

Data from the Renewable Energy Development Division of NEA similarly showed 2,184 electrification projects undergoing implementation in the franchise domain of Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TAWELCO) under the Barangay Line Enhancement Program.

Almeda opined “power precedes progress. With the various components of this endeavor, we are able to provide not only access to electricity, but also a means of livelihood to the communities in Mindanao.”