More power cooperatives improve operations in 2009 – NEA

MANILA, Philippines – With the help of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), more electric cooperatives (ECs) made marked improvements in more electric cooperatives on their financial and technical performance last year.

In its 2009 Categorization and Classification report, NEA said the number of Category A+ and A ECs increased to 80 from 74 in 2008, while only 10 remained under Category E or non-complying. A total of 18 ECs improved on their respective categorization; 82 maintained their rankings, while six retrogressed.

All 27 ECs in Region VII (Central Visayas), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region XI (Davao Peninsula) and Caraga attained an A+ rating, thus earning the most outstanding performance as a region.

“We congratulate the electric cooperatives for a remarkable performance for calendar year 2009.  We are inspired by the impressive ratings of the ECs. It is, to a great extent, a demonstration of NEA’s commitment to service excellence and public governance as the agency aims for breakthrough results in the rural electrification program,” NEA administrator Edita S. Bueno said.

The criteria for the review and evaluation include amortization payment, system loss, collection efficiency, payment to generating companies and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), non-power cost, level of barangay energization and number of consumer-connections and result of financial operation.

In 2009, 91 ECs achieved the 100-percent barangay energization level.

The result on system loss is likewise quite notable. Twenty-three (23) ECs posted a single-digit system loss level, an increase from 19 in 2008, with Cebu’s Cebeco III registering the lowest system loss of 4.08.  Likewise, 71 other ECs recorded system losses which are within the cap of 14 percent, 22 of which are single-digit.

On collection efficiency, 22 ECs attained 100 percent level on top of the 63 which were within the NEA standard of 95 percent. The marked improvement in collection performance resulted in an increase in the national average level of 95 percent from 94 percent in 2008.

Meanwhile, 83 ECs are current in the payment of their power accounts, including five with restructured payment scheme while 88 ECs are current in their payments with NGCP of which seven have restructured accounts. All ECs in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), Regions VII, X, XII and Caraga are current in their power account payments.

There are 99 ECs which earned the maximum point score of 10 for maintaining their expenditures within their approved non-power cost level, while 85 ECs registered net margin before reinvestment. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)