Full Household Electrification

As we enter the SONA season, it is good to revisit one of the promises made by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in his second State of the Nation Address.

One area that piqued my interest is the current administration’s effort to achieve full household electrification by 2028.

As PBBM confidently announced, “One hundred percent is within our reach.”

Of course, only time would tell.   Promise fulfilled or broken, we would know by 30 June 2028.

At present, household electrification level is at 93.12% based on the latest available Department of Energy (DOE) data.  This means there are more than 2 million households in the Philippine that still live without electricity.

Coal remains our top power source at 61.9% in 2023.  In fact, the Philippines has become the most coal-dependent country in Southeast Asia and the seventh in the world, according to the UK-based energy think tank Ember.

Renewables, which include solar, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, and ocean power, are a distant second accounting for only 22%.

I personally witnessed the use of solar energy in my private summer trips to Alibijaban Island, Quezon Province and Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte; and saw firsthand how this power generation mix helps local communities thrive.

Full electrification, some quarters deem, is a pipe dream.  But dreams, lest we forget, are the only things free in this world.  Let me therefore ask the question: What, then, would happen if we achieve 100% total electrification of the Philippines?

The DOE has the following projections: If access to electricity in low-income households is increased to 8 hours a day, their income will go up by 17.9%, while their expenditure will rise by 17%.  On the other hand, if low-income households have electricity for 8 to 16 hours a day, this will translate to 33% increase in both income and expenditure. Meanwhile, if low-income households have electricity for 16 to 24 hours a day, there would be a 49.4% increase in income and 52.2% increase in expenditure.

In terms of economic benefits, this will be around Php315 Billion, or approximately 1.8% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to a joint study by the DOE and the Philippine Statistics Authority.

How much does it entail to have full electrification?

Php72 Billion, says our energy department.  Now back to reality.

Let our technocrats in the energy bureaucracy roll up their sleeves, come up with the funding and fulfill this SONA promise.  They have four more years before they can say, Mission Accomplished!

Dennis Ting is a former director at the Department of Budget and Management.

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