Congress urged to reconsider Napocor budget

State-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) has asked Congress to reconsider the firm’s budget, saying that the P15 billion it is set to receive will not be enough to fund its capital expenditure requirements and operations.

In an interview, Napocor president Froilan A. Tampinco said the corporation would need the full amount of P19 billion to ensure the smooth operation of its small power utilities group (SPUG), which provides electricity to communities in remote areas of the country.

“If the P4 billion will not be approved, we will be forced to defer some crucial capital expenditure projects. We will not be able to cover all the SPUG areas adequately,” Tampinco said.

“It’s either we forego certain projects, or if it is really necessary, we will have to file for a supplemental budget in 2012. We, however, don’t expect next year to be as bad as 2011 because we can live with the P15 billion budget. Still, some projects may be deferred. In 2011, our budget was only good up to the first half of the year,” he explained.

Early this year, some remote and off-grid areas where the SPUG operates encountered power supply shortfalls because Napocor was unable to pay its fuel suppliers.

Napocor was not able to raise the necessary funds after the Department of Justice barred the cash-strapped firm from conducting bond issuances.

Napocor’s average operational requirements run to about P1.1 billion a month.

The Napocor-SPUG serves 214 island and isolated grids, providing electricity to 39 electric cooperatives, seven local government units and a multipurpose cooperative. –Amy R. Remo