NEA to ECs: ‘We still have a long way to go’

  • The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has crossed several miletones on its 50-
    year journey towards electrifying the countryside, but still has a long way to go in achieving
    rural development.
    NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong emphasized this Monday (July 29) as the agency
    marks its 50th founding anniversary bearing the theme “NEA@50: One with ECs and MCOs
    for Sustainable Rural Development.”
    “We still have a long way to go in helping the government achieve the dream of every
    Filipino, the Ambisyon Natin 2040, whereby all Filipinos enjoy a strongly rooted, comfortable,
    and secure life by 2040,” Masongsong said.
    AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the national government’s 25-year roadmap to end poverty in the
    country.
    The NEA chief pointed out that the mandate of the electric cooperatives (ECs) goes beyond
    lighting up the farthest and remotest area in the country. The power co-ops must also excert
    more efforts to foster social and economic growth in the countryside, he added.
    “Beyond electrifying the countryside, we need to go further into achieving rural development:
    to free our kababayans from the chains of poverty,” Masongsong said during the leadership
    dialogue with the ECs as part of the golden anniversary celebration.
    “We can do this by empowering our communities, our member-consumer-owners within the
    franchise areas of the ECs, with the introduction of livelihood programs and economic
    activities within the sector using the electricity connection that we commit to bring to the
    farthest sitio, to the households in the last mile, whether of the main grid or off-grid,” he said.
    It will be recalled that the NEA was established as an institution on July 28,1969 through
    Republic Act No. 6038, with a mandate to carry out the total electrification of the country on
    an area coverage basis.
    “Through its partner electric cooperatives, the Rural Electrification Program has benefited
    nearly 61 million Filipinos in more than 13 million consumer connections in the countryside,”
    Masongsong said.
    This year’s anniversary theme underscores the NEA’s commitment to continue pursuing the
    total electrification of the country and help improve the living conditions of the Filipinos,
    particularly those in rural and remote areas.
    As part of the kick-off program, NEA officials and employees gathered on Monday morning
    for a thanksgiving mass dubbed as “Gratitude for the Gold,” followed by the simultaneous
    nationwide launching of the “Solidarity Shirt” with the ECs.
    Other activities slated for this year’s anniversary celebration are the formal celebration and
    the NEA-EC-MCOs Convention on Rural Electrification on August 6 and 7 at the Philippine
    International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
    On August 8, there will be a “Golden Dagitab” awarding ceremony in honor of the ECs and
    other partners that have contributed a lot to the success of the rural electrification program.
    A nationwide line clearing and tree-planting activities will also be conducted simultaneously
    by all ECs in the country in observance of the 10th National Electrification Awareness Month
    (NEAM) on Augst 30. ###

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