DOE: Homes without electricity surged by a million in last 5 years

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday said the number of households without electricity has increased by a million in the last five years.

During a Senate hearing on the proposed P2.5 billion budget of the DOE, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla based the number on the 2020 census, which showed 1.8 million households do not have electricity, a much higher number compared to the 2015 consensus, which showed only 800,000 households without electricity.

The 2020 number also translated to a percentage of electrification of 96 percent, said Lotilla, two percent lower than 2015’s 98 percent.

Lotilla attributed the increase to the rise in population and, in effect, total households.

“We cannot cope with this given the present budgetary limitation…” said Lotilla.

“…We will try our best to look for other means, but an increase in the electrification budget would increase the rate of implementation of our electrification program,” he added.

Regarding the budget, National Electrification Administration chief Antonio Almeda pointed out that its originally requested budget for electrification was P6 billion — which would have covered 2,000 sitios.

However, since it was cut down by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to P1.6 billion, the program would be limited to 576 sitios.

Upon hearing this, Senator Raffy Tulfo told the DBM to provide the DOE and its attached agencies with the appropriate budget.

“Para makapagtrabaho ng maayos itong sa energy sector natin, bigyan niyo sila ng tamang budget, para nagagawa nila ‘yung nararapat,” said Tulfo.

(For our energy sector to work correctly, give them a proper budget so they can do what they need to.)

Tulfo then committed to assist DOE in increasing its 2024 budget, with Senator Win Gatchalian supporting his call.

“I would rally behind DOE’s budget and its attached agencies na ‘wag sana ma-slash, baka pwedeng maibalik (that it doesn’t get slashed, maybe it can be restored),” said Tulfo.

“We’re open to suggestions and we’ll wait for your recommendations, and together we’ll push very hard to increase their budget on some of the components,” said Gatchalian.

RELATED STORIES:

High fuel prices may persist until end of 2023 – DOE

DOE boosts transparency with new websites

je/abc