April 16, 2026 – Electric cooperatives are not corporate experiments. They are a legal and democratic commitment to the Filipino people.
Established under Presidential Decree 269 in 1973 and strengthened by Republic Act 10531 in 2013, electric cooperatives were created to bring electricity to communities that private utilities deemed too remote or unprofitable to serve.
Ideally, they are consumer-owned, service-driven, and democratically governed—their boards elected by the very members they serve, their decisions shaped by community participation.
"For decades, this model has stood as a direct expression of the democratic ideal applied to energy access nationwide. It is not profit that drives cooperatives, but service," Nic Satur Jr., Chief Advocate Officer of PARE, said.
Under PD 269, the National Electrification Administration was tasked with organizing and supervising cooperatives to accelerate rural electrification. RA 10531 later expanded NEA’s powers, reinforcing its authority to provide technical and financial assistance, enforce governance standards, and intervene when cooperatives falter.
"This legal framework ensures that cooperatives are not just utilities—they are community institutions, built and sustained by the very consumers they serve," Satur said.
“Across the Philippines, many cooperatives have proven effective and efficient. They deliver stable, reliable, and affordable electricity to millions of households, often in areas where private utilities would never invest. These well-managed cooperatives deserve recognition and support, not privatization. “We are not here to defend dysfunction. We are here to defend effective cooperatives and the consumers that benefit from them," Satur said.
PARE acknowledges that not all cooperatives are perfect. Some are problematic, facing high system losses, expensive power supply agreements, governance weaknesses, and allegations of corruption and poor management. These failures harm consumers who pay their bills faithfully every month.
But dysfunction demands accountability and reform, not corporate takeover. Privatisation should be a last resort when all efforts, assistance, and reforms have been exhausted. The law already provides NEA with clear intervention tools and mechanisms, so the cooperative model should not be discarded solely because of a few problematic ECs. What we need is real accountability from both problematic ECs and regulators, and that is why PARE continuously monitors them and reminds them of their mandate and responsibilities, Satur said.
He said electric cooperatives embody a principle that is rare in the energy sector: consumers as owners, not just customers. They are built on patience, perseverance, and democratic participation.
“Support electric cooperatives that serve well, and reform those that do not. Consumers deserve affordable, reliable electricity. Service, not profit, must lead our energy reform,” Satur said.
The story of electric cooperatives is the story of Filipino communities choosing service over profit, democracy over monopoly. They are not perfect, but they are ours. And in defending them, we defend not just electricity access, but the principle that power, both electrical and political, belongs to us, the people.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
