WB hikes support for PH electric cooperatives

The World Bank is expanding support for electric cooperatives in the Philippines, particularly for those investing in renewable energy.

“The World Bank is going to help the government get $44 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which is a climate investment fund. That $44 million, we estimate, will help to spark $500 million in lending to electric cooperatives for network expansion and for renewable energy,” Alan Townsend, senior energy specialist at the World Bank, said on the sidelines of the LNG Supply, Transport and Storage Philippines 2013 in Manila.

“The new one (guarantee program) has been approved by the donor, which is CTF, and is awaiting Philippine government approval and (that of) the World Bank board,” Townsend said.

The new funding builds on the efforts of an existing facility called the Electric Cooperative-Partial Credit Guarantee (EC-PCG), which the World Bank put up about seven years ago with a $10-million grant plus a $2-million technical training grant for partner-agencies Department of Energy (DOE) and the LGU Guarantee Corp.

Townsend said such guarantees encouraged banks like Bank of the Philippine Islands and Security Bank to lend to electric cooperatives investing in renewable energy or network expansion.

The guarantee funding also supports the country’s efforts to boost domestic renewable energy-generation capacity. Townsend said cooperatives with access to financing often took minority stakes in renewable energy projects and would also buy the power generated from these ventures.