DOE fails to meet electrification target — COA

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) said Friday that the Department of Energy (DOE) failed to meet its target on providing full electrification of 450,000 households.

In an audit report for 2018, COA said DOE’s Nationwide Intensification Household Electrification (NIHE) Program, which has a budget of P2.350 billion “has not achieved its purpose of providing full electrification of 450,000 households by the end of 2018.”

State auditors said 17.14 percent or only 77,121 households out of 450,000 households have been provided with electricity.

The Commission also discovered that the government agency only paid 38.80 percent or P498.438 million of the total awarded contracts to 78 Distribution Utilities (DUs) valued at P1.285 billion. This leaves P757.839 million in unreleased funds to DUs.

“The low output delivery and utilization rates were mainly attributable to lack of public bidding in procuring the services of the most qualified Distribution Utilities (DUs) to implement the project and some noted deficiencies in the project documents and implementation process on the program,” read the report. /ee

READ: DOE aims for 100% electrification by 2020