THE first phase of the electrification tracker in Cebu is scheduled to commence in 2024, aiming to expedite the provision of electricity to sitios currently without access.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is set to launch the Digital Dashboard Command Center (DDCC) project which is a digital command center that would accurately map out areas without access to reliable power in real-time.
According to the NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda, they will work with distribution utilities (DUs) Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) and Cebu III Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cebeco 3) for the first phase of the project.
Cebeco 3 distributes electricity to Toledo City (38 barangays) and the municipalities of Pinamungajan (26), Aloguinsan (15), Balamban (28) and Asturias (27) on the western side of Cebu. The power distributor also serves 11 mountain barangays in Cebu City.
Beneco and Cebeco 3 were chosen as pilot DUs for this project because these cooperatives already have their digital dashboards in place.
NEA seeks to have 58 other electric cooperatives be a part of the digital command center within 2024 and will be part of the project’s final phase in 2025.
Virgilio Fortich Jr., general manager of Cebeco 3, told SunStar Cebu on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, that the initiative is part of ongoing efforts to provide electricity to every household in the country, to achieve total electrification for all sitios by 2028.
“Pagkakaron g’yud daghan pa’g mga sitios nationwide ang wala pa mapasug-i,” he said.
(There are still many sitios nationwide that have not yet been electrified.)
Fortich said that the target for next year is to have 89 percent of areas covered by electric cooperatives energized. Additionally, the goal is to provide electricity to 11,114 sitios nationwide by 2028.
For Cebeco 3, Fortich said there are only 18 remaining new sitios for electrification. For Cebu Province, all sitios are 100 percent electrified within Cebeco 1, 2, and 3 except for new sitios or extension of existing sitios. Cebeco 1 has 76 extension sitios.
Fortich added that the system will be established on sitios not yet energized per region. The DDCC will allow electric cooperatives to monitor the budget per sitio, the targets per year, and real-time updates of sitios.
The DDCC is not only tasked with monitoring but will also assess the operational performance of electric cooperatives. It will incorporate performance indicators for all cooperatives, enabling the gathering of real-time data and facilitating necessary adjustments for each sitio.
“Say for example, kung dunay brownout sa asa dapita, unsay hinungdan, pila ka mga consumers na affected, everything apil sa maong integrated system,” said Fortich.
(For example, if there is a blackout in a certain area, the cause, affected consumers, everything is included in that integrated system.)
Fortich said data submitted by electric cooperatives using the system will now be more accurate and reliable. It will not be susceptible to falsification, as the updated data is monitored in real-time.
He added that the system will allow efficient data gathering and analysis, citing an example that if indicators need to be checked there is no need for user or manual intervention as the data is extracted directly from the system and infrastructure.
Fortich stressed that the primary objective of the project is to enhance efficiency by improving the system and service for consumers. The tracker will enable electric cooperatives to compete effectively against private distribution utilities.