1.8M households without electricity

The number of households without electricity has risen by a million in the last five years, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said Friday.

The Department of Energy based its figures on a 2020 census, which showed 1.8 million households without electricity, much higher than the 2015 consensus, which showed only 800,000 households without power.

Speaking at the Senate hearing on the DoE's proposed P2.5-billion budget for 2024, Lotilla said the 2020 data translated to a percentage of electrification of 96 percent, two percent lower than 98 percent in 2015.

Lotilla attributed the increase to the rise in population and total households. "We cannot cope with this given the present budgetary limitation," he said.

He noted that "an increase in the electrification budget would increase the rate of implementation" of the country's electrification program.

The Senate Committee on Finance tackled the proposed DoE budget for 2024, as presented by Lotilla.

The DoE, the Energy Regulatory Commission, and the National Electrification Administration are seeking funding amounting to P2.59 billion, P664 million and P2.29 billion, respectively, to be utilized next year.

Meanwhile, National Electrification Administration chief Antonio Almeda pointed out that its requested budget for electrification was P6 billion. This request would have covered 2,000 sitios, he added.

However, the Department of Budget and Management cut the energy sector's fund allocation to P1.6 billion. This limited the program to 576 areas.