Missionary electrification projects get P1.9-B budget

MANILA  -The government has allocated P1.9 billion for missionary electrification projects, prioritizing indigent households as identified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The DBM said in a statement the fund represents the 2023 budget of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), which the Department of Energy oversees. Among NEA’s programs are the Barangay/Sitio Electrification Project, Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency, and Installation of Solar Panels in Public Buildings.

“When we say we want to uplift the lives of the Filipino people, we mean all Filipinos, even those in the farthest barangays or sitios. And we cannot achieve socio-economic improvement in these areas (barangays and sitios or peripheral districts relative to the barangay center) if their communities remain unelectrified,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said in a statement.

“That is why we made sure that funds are available for programs that energize homes, especially in far flung areas,” Pangandaman added.

The Barangay/Sitio Electrification Project will get a big chunk of NEA’s budget, with P1.68 billion intended to provide electricity to homes in about 1,140 sitios across the country.

The DBM noted that the national budget law provides that priority shall be given to rural communities where an absolute number of indigents and the incidence of poverty are high as identified in the latest official poverty statistics of the PSA.

On the other hand, priority is also given to areas that are easiest to energize or have a “high probability of having electricity.”

Meanwhile, state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) has set aside P1.5 billion for a lending program aimed at power distributors amid concerns about a looming shortfall in electricity supply that could jack up utility rates.

Through the program dubbed “Anti Bill Shock,” utilities may borrow funds to cover the anticipated increases in their working capital needs for the summer months and enable them to not pass this on to their customers.

The program name is actually an acronym that stands for “Assistance to Narrow and Trim down the Incremental power cost increase via Bridge financing Initiative of Landbank to Lower and Spread out Hot summer-triggered monthly Consumption on Konsumers’ Electricity.”

The state bank’s new lending kitty was made ready amid forecasts of warmer temperature during the forthcoming dry season, and is intended to cushion the impact of greater electricity consumption that would push up monthly bills.

Through the lending program, Landbank will provide financing to power distribution firms at concessional rates with no additional spread on their working capital.

Power distributors may borrow up to 80 percent of the incremental increase on their working capital needs during the summer months.

Landbank believes that such arrangement will enable the distributors to spread out the increases in their customer’s billings by up to nine months without passing the borrowing cost to consumers who cannot afford to pay at full cost.

Also, borrowers will be required to implement an anti-electric bill shock program to protect their respective clients from the expected increase in electricity bills.

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