The National Electrification Administration (NEA) will focus on assessing the financial viability of 121 electric cooperatives nationwide to safeguard consumers' interests.

NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said financial management will make up a significant portion of the criteria in evaluating the performance of electric cooperatives moving forward.

"Financial management, for me, will be a big reflection of how the day-to-day operations and the level of accomplishment or level of efficiency of a certain co-op will be put into figures," he said.

"I want a reflection of the true state of operations both on technical and financial management," Almeda told reporters.

Almeda said the agency decided to revise the categorization process of all power co-ops, taking off from the idea that they are managing the money of member-consumer-owners.

"It is not the co-op's money they are handling. That is the consumers' money and it's in my mandate that I have to protect the money of the consumer members," he added.

Almeda narrated an instance where a particular electric cooperative, which garnered a rating of AAA, the highest rating given by NEA, failed to settle its debt with state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. worth P1.5 billion. INQ