The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has cited the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) as a successful model for reducing system losses, urging other power cooperatives to follow its example.
NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda announced the progress during a briefing Monday, noting Zamcelco cut losses from around 20 percent in January 2026 to roughly 13 percent by July 2026 through capital investments, meter upgrades, and anti-pilferage measures. The cooperative, managed under a 25-year contract with Crown Investment Holdings Inc. since 2018, deployed nearly P400 million starting November 2025 to install 45,000 meters, build anti-theft infrastructure, and pursue prosecutions alongside law enforcement.
Almeda said these efforts form the basis for a broader NEA program supporting proposed laws that would ban passing non-technical losses—such as theft—on to consumers. He encouraged other cooperatives to use NEA’s Reinvestment Fund for capital upgrades, while noting technical losses from longer rural power lines remain a separate challenge requiring targeted solutions.
