The First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) has maintained its sterling record with the National Electrification Administration (NEA) on its financial, technical and institutional performance for calendar year 2023.
In Memorandum No. 2024-30, NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda congratulated FICELCO and 88 other electric cooperatives for having sustained exemplary performance in earning the “AAA” rating for last year.
Of the 11 Bicol ECs, FICELCO and seven other co-ops retained their “AAA” ratings: CANORECO, CASUREO I, CASURECO III, CASURECO IV, SORECO I, and SORECO II.
CASURECO II vastly improved from category “B” to “AAA” in 2023 while TISELCO rose one rung from “D” to “C”.
On the other hand, MASELCO maintained its “C” rating while the ailing ALECO’s categorization dropped from “C” to “D”.
Among the region’s co-ops, only CASURECO I, III and IV obtained 100 percent Institutional Rating, with FICELCO narrowly missing the boat with 99 percent.
Here’s how the other co-ops scored in the NEA assessment: CANORECO, 97%; CASURECO II, 97%; SORECO II, 97%; SORECO I, 95%; MASELCO, 92%; ALECO, 81%; and TISELCO, 7%.
Along with the lone Camarines Norte co-op, CASURECO I and IV, and SORECO II, the Catanduanes cooperative is also classified as “Green”, meaning they were able to meet all the seven (7) performance standards and parameters.
Classified as “Yellow-1” were CASURECO II and III as well as SORECO I, with TISELCO as “Yellow-2” and ALECO and MASELCO as ‘Red.”
Yellow-1 ECs failed to comply with not more than three (3) key performance standards while Yellow 2 co-ops failed to comply with four (4) or more standards, with “Red” co-ops declared as “ailing” after observance of due process.
Under NEA guidelines, the established key performance standards and parameters are Cash General Fund (at least one month working capital); Collection Efficiency (95% and above); Payment to Generation Companies, NGCP, NEA and Other Financial Institutions (Current/Restructured Current); Result of Financial Operation (Positive); Net Worth (Positive); System Loss (Within the 12% Cap); and System Reliability (30 interruptions/3,375 minutes per consumer per year).
On Cash General Fund for CY 2023, FICELCO had a working capital fund of P109 million, nearly double the working capital of P59 million needed for a cooperative to continue their daily operation for one month.
With an average collection efficiency of 100 percent compared to the standard level of 95%, the island’s cooperative is one of just 27 cooperatives nationwide which are 100% efficient in their collection of accounts receivables.
Its accounts payable with its power supplier, NEA and lending banks were all current, meaning FICELCO is able to pay its power accounts to Sunwest Water & Electricity Co. and its financial obligations to NEA and banks on time.
On the other hand, its net revenue after deducting all costs and expenses was at P43.3 million, while its 2023 net worth was estimated at P335 million, a sharp increase from the 2022 figure pf P254 million.
The co-op management was able to keep System Loss to an historic low of 7.74 percent, compared to the standard level of 12 percent, indicating a highly efficient distribution system.
FICELCO is among the nation’s 68 electric cooperatives to persist in enhancing their distribution systems and striving to minimize losses to single-digit levels.
In Bicol, the only other ECs to achieve this feat are CANORECO (5.71%), CASURECO I (9.14%) and CASURECO IV (9.38%).
The cooperatives were also assessed as to their power reliability or in meeting the electricity needs of their end-users.
This is measured through the System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), which refers to the total number of sustained customer power interruptions within a given period divided by the total number of customers served within the same period.
For off-grid co-ops like FICELCO, the standards is 30 interruptions, with FICELCO attaining a low 16.27, fourth among five Bicol co-ops which were able to comply with the standard.
The other power reliability parameter is the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), or the total duration of sustained customer power interruptions within a given period divided by the total number of customers served within the same period makes up SAIDI. The standard is 3,375 minutes per consumer for off-grid ECs.
For 2023, FICELCO had a total of 983.87 minutes of sustained power interruptions per customer, fourth among the five ECs in Bicol to meet the SAIDI standard.
CANORECO had the lowest SAIDI in the region, with just 57.51 minutes of power outages per customer per year, followed by CASURECO IV (258.83 minutes) and SORECO II (505.03 minutes).
NEA Administrator Almeda said the 2023 EC Overall Performance Assessment and Size Classification shall serve as the bases for the implementation of the benefits, allowances and incentives of cooperative officials and employees, which took effect last July 8, 2024.