To achieve the 100-percent household electrification goal of Marcos Jr. administration, the Department of Energy (DOE) is batting for higher budget for the energization of areas still being denied of reliable and round-the-clock electricity services. “Of course, we are limited – that’s why we want Congressional support because these are chargeable to the budget,” Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said. The National Electrification Administration (NEA), an attached agency of the DOE overseeing electrification initiatives across domains served by the electric cooperatives, had been incessantly lamenting the marginal allocation to energization projects. The electrification budget is just 10 to 20 percent versus the proposed budget. In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President declared that “alongside power generation, we are also as relentless in pursuing total electrification,” qualifying that since he assumed office last year, “almost half a million homes have been given access to electricity.” The President noted “we will spare no effort to achieve full household-electrification by the end of my term  100 percent is within our reach.” In line with the President’s pronouncement, Lotilla indicated that prime attention shall be given to the energization of households within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has been lagging so far on electricity service access. “We want to be able to fast track that, but realistically, given the levels of budget support that we have been getting … we have given ourselves up to 2028,” the energy chief stressed. Beyond sourcing funds from government coffers, Lotilla cited the alternative ways on how State-sponsored electrification program can be advanced via the enforcement of other investment-enabling policies, such as the institutionalization of microgrid systems. Under a microgrid set-up, energy access can be expanded by enticing interested investors to cough up funds for the establishment of smaller-scale power grids that could then decentralize energy production for targeted group of end-users. Microgrids are seen ideal in addressing the energy needs of far-flung as well as isolated jurisdictions of the country.  These "unserved" or "underserved" areas could benefit from renewable energy or hybrid systems. “The President’s target is to really have 100 percent by the time 2028 comes. Many of the things that you’ve seen are part of the roadmap for achieving this – like the microgrid systems; like the distributed RE systems and quite a number of things,” Lotilla pointed out. In particular, he reiterated that the ARMM region has the lowest level of electrification – just hovering at 44-percent; hence, that shall be set as a priority concern for the government.