Total electrification by 2028?

DoE says ‘show me the money’

Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla isn’t sugarcoating it — getting power to every last sitio in the country by 2028 isn’t just a question of ambition, but of cold, hard cash.

“If the funds are available, it would take an average of around P25 billion a year to finish it,” Lotilla told reporters. “Congress appropriates on a yearly basis so we don’t know if there will be sufficient funds to support.”

With the Marcos administration hitting its halfway mark, the Department of Energy (DoE) is gearing up for a sectoral meeting with the President to take stock of the electrification program.

The goal: figure out if the targets are still within reach or if it’s time for a reality check.

Lotilla isn’t mincing words — plans are great, but without consistent funding, they remain just that: plans. “It is a good time to review how realistic both our targets and the funding available and that we can think of ways to hasten or to make them more realistic,” he said.

The administration’s energy agenda is riding on this, but without a steady stream of funding, the DoE may have to dial back expectations. The big question now? Whether Congress will step up with the budget — or if this electrification dream will remain stuck in the dark.