Zamcelco cuts system loss on upgrades, anti-pilferage drive

MANILA, Philippines — The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) slashed its system losses from 20 percent in January to 13 percent in July as the group managed to raise fresh funds for network upgrades and fight power theft, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said.

NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said the power cooperative was “hopeless” before, with its system loss ballooning to 20 percent to 23 percent.

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However, the NEA began analytics-driven activities early in 2026 to cut or eliminate non-technical system losses in electric cooperatives exceeding the limit set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Furthermore, Almeda said that Zamcelco worked closely with authorities to hunt down unauthorized hookups.

“All we did was look for those who didn’t have meters. I told the investment manager to infuse capital, jack up their collection, and reduce system loss,” the NEA chief said.

“Our experience in Zamcelco and other ECs now serves as the foundation for developing an institutionalized program to support and implement the envisioned system loss law, should this mandate the prohibition of system loss from pilferages to be passed on to the consumers,” Almeda added.

READ: DOE: Scrapping ‘system loss’ charge may take a year

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Meanwhile, system loss is the difference between electricity entering a distribution network and the amount eventually billed to customers.

In addition, it covers technical losses caused by resistance in power lines, transformers and aging equipment, and nontechnical losses from electricity theft, illegal connections, defective meters, and billing errors.

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To recall, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to scrap the charging of system loss costs to consumers to ease Filipinos’ financial burden.

To continue these efforts, Almeda urged power cooperatives to take advanatage of the reinvestment fund for sustainable capital expenditures. /pai