Electric coops ‘Pantawid Liwanag’ to implement nationwide: Ebcas

TO provides subsidies  to marginalized consumers, the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA) in cooperation with the National Association of General Managers of Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (NAGMEC) spearheads the implementation of Pantawid Liwanag, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program of electric cooperatives.

“This Pantawid Liwanag program will simultaneously be implemented across the nation,” said Ako Padayon Pilipino partylist Rep. Adriano A. Ebcas.

Undeniably, access to electricity is a basic necessity especially in this time of pandemic - just imagine being on a home quarantine and working from home without electricity.

Right now, no one has ever implemented a CSR program that provides subsidy to electricity bills, according to Ebcas.

In a statement, PHILRECA has lobbied not just once for the “bill subsidy benefit” to be considered in the Social Amelioration Program of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act but to no avail.

Thus, in response to the government’s call for support, electric cooperatives have decided to provide subsidy to its consumers through the Pantawid Liwanag.

This program aims to subsidize the electricity bills of those who are most vulnerable in this time of COVID-19 global outbreak depending on the capacity of electric cooperatives.

“Not all electric cooperatives will provide subsidies to consumers with as high as 50 kWh consumption, as reads part of the statement.

Majority of the ECs have committed to cover 20 kWh consumption and below. But there are ECs who are looking into an option of just providing an equal discount to a limited number of their MCOs within a certain consumption bracket due to limited budget. Implementation of the program varies depending on the EC’s circumstance and financial capability and the discretion of the management.

Since the program seeks to assist MCOs who are most vulnerable in this time of COVID-19 global outbreak, the target bill to be covered will be the March 26 to April 25 period (April 2020 billing cycle) and not 2 months bills.

Electric cooperatives, however, are not precluded from providing further assistance should their financial circumstances allow it.

As a baseline requirement, those that will be included and prioritized in the program are the marginalized consumers who are living below the poverty threshold or are severely affected by the pandemic.

Specifically, the target beneficiaries of this program are the less fortunate MCOs who have no regular income like the lifeline electric consumers, those with regular income but insufficient and have difficulty in paying their electricity consumption, those primarily affected by the lockdown or the enhanced community quarantine.

To fund the CSR program, most ECs will be utilizing their budget that is supposedly allotted for their institutional activities, which are to be cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Such institutional activities include but are not limited to Annual General Membership Assemblies or AGMAs, district elections for directors, and other programmed activities for 2020.

Budget for the aforementioned activities will be realigned to operational working capital of the electric cooperative, with a portion of the amount to be used to cover the EC’s CSR or the Pantawid Liwanag program.

Other sources that can augment the fund for this endeavor include existing advocacy funds of electric cooperatives, donations from employees and other philanthropists, and possible allocation from the One EC Network Foundation.

As of recent data, PHILRECA estimates the total number of consumers with an average of 20 kwh consumption per month at 3,041,756. A total of 86 electric cooperatives have already committed to implement the program.

“More than half of the 121 ECs have already allocated an aggregate amount of P118,333,667.37 for their coverage areas, while the others are still running their simulations,” Ebcas said

While the sector is pushing for the effective implementation of the PANTAWID LIWANAG program across the country, we hope that the IATF would still consider our appeal for the government to provide financial assistance to marginalized consumers through the electric cooperatives as this would certainly augment the limited capability and funds of the coops.

Pantawid Liwanag is the rural electrification sector’s contribution in the spirit of Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or RA 11469.

The program covers electricity consumers within the franchise areas of the Electric Cooperatives; private distribution utilities have their own CSR program. (Ben Balce)