“A cooperative is hereby vested with all power necessary or convenient for the accomplishment of its corporate purpose… Such power shall include… To acquire, own, operate and maintain generating facilities within its franchise area…”

R.A. 10531, Chapter III, Section 9 NEA Reform Act of 2013

Non-stock, non-profit membership corporations created by Philippine law that are granted the authority for power generation and distribution to their consumer-members within a specific jurisdiction.

Electric cooperatives are community-focused and function to serve their members.

There are 121 electric cooperatives spread throughout the Philippine archipelago that provide electricity to more than 56 million people in rural villages, towns and islands.

Candlewick has formed an alliance with the Association of Isolated Electric Cooperatives (AIEC), an organization of 40 electric cooperatives, to jointly undertake off-grid electrification projects throughout the Philippines.

• AIEC (Association of Isolated Electric Cooperatives) is an association of 40+ electric cooperatives.

• AIEC MGEC (Missionary Green Energy Corporation) is an SEC-registered company. It is owned by the AIEC Electric Cooperatives and Rural Electrification Energy Corp. (REEC)

• Candlewick Partnered with the Electric Cooperatives through an incorporated joint venture agreement with AIEC MGEC. The relationship/JV came about years of relationship building by Candlewick’s management/core team in their years/decades of off-grid electrification in the Philippines and SE Asia.

Working in partnership with the electrical cooperatives facilitates accelerated project approvals and permitting at the local, regional and national level.  It enables an organization with nationwide reach while maintaining the culture of a small, local partner – with modest cost structures to match.

Most importantly, this partnership aligns the interests and needs of all stakeholders involved in implementing a Candlewick microgrid: from the remotest fishing community household owner who needs to light just one lightbulb and a fan to do his work; to the Filipino and international partners who seek the assurance that the partnership’s experience and institutional stability provide.

The partnership between Candlewick and the local electric cooperatives bridges two worlds into one unified objective: access to affordable, sustainable, and local owned energy and water services.