THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) said Wednesday that 87 of the country’s 121 electric cooperatives (ECs) were classified as triple-A rated, the highest possible grade, in 2018.
“The ECs’ performance level for Calendar Year 2018 was impressive. Although there were lots of challenges the NEA and the ECs encountered during the year, most of the ECs sustained their exemplary performance,” NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong said in a statement Wednesday.
“Those ECs which need further improvements in overall performance should reassess existing programs and implement more aggressive strategies to address major problems and concerns,” he added.
NEA evaluates and determines the power distribution utilities’ overall performance using two criteria: key performance standards, which account for 80%; and EC classification, 20%.
These criteria were designed to measure the power cooperatives‘ full compliance on four parameters, namely financial, institutional, technical, and reportorial requirements. The ECs were rated from AAA as the highest to D as the lowest.
NEA said results of its “2018 Electric Cooperative Overall Performance Assessment and Size Classification” that 24 of the 87 power distribution utilities that received AAA ratings got a perfect 100 point score in all the performance parameters.
All power distribution utilities in Regions VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas) and Caraga attained AAA rating, it said. Regions I (Ilocos Region) and VIII (Eastern Visayas) emerged as the most improved regions after all of their ECs wee rated AAA, it added.
The agency said the assessment also showed that 83 ECs maintained their AAA rating, while nine improved their scores in all performance levels. It added that 83% or 100 out of the 121 ECs received a status of AAA, AA or A.
Of the remaining 21 ECs, four improved their operational performance either from C to B, or D to C. A total of 12 utilities retained their performance level while five were rated either B, C or D.
NEA said in 2018, the number of “mega large” ECs increased to 66 from 64 in 2017. The increase was after Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Cebu III Electric Cooperative, Inc. improved to mega large from extra large, it said.
Quirino Electric Cooperative and Mountain Province Electric Cooperative, Inc. were elevated to extra large from large, while Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative, Inc. went to large from medium.
NEA previously proposed to amend the existing guidelines to include the energization level of the EC among the key parameters. Energization level is measured by the number of consumer connections a power co-op achieves under a given timeline based on the official reports or documents it submitted. — Victor V. Saulon
