Napocor needs P10-B loan for off-grid plants’ fuel

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA  -National Power Corp. (Napocor) will be needing another P10 billion in loans to ensure that its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) plants have enough diesel fuel to provide electricity in off-grid areas, according to its top official.

Fernando Roxas, president of Napocor, told reporters that his office had already applied for the Monetary Board’s (MB) approval for the loan it sought from Land Bank of the Philippines to purchase fuel this year.

He added that they were targeting to get the MB’s nod by August or September.

This is the company’s second such loan this year.

In January, Napocor—a government-owned and -controlled corporation that generates power for off-grid areas—said it had requested a P5-billion loan from Landbank to sustain its SPUG operations.

Most of Napocor’s 281 SPUG plants spread across the country are diesel-fired.

Amid rising global diesel fuel prices, the company has pledged to cease its acquisition of diesel generating sets to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels and fast-track Napocor’s renewable energy program.

https://business.inquirer.net/401570/napocor-wants-bigger-re-portfolio

Part of its plans is to operate on 100-percent clean energy by 2030 primarily through the construction of solar plants, which Roxas had said was the “easiest” to build among other renewable technologies such as wind and hydro.

At present, only 2 percent of its plants run on renewable energy.

Napocor is also pushing for the hybridization of its existing SPUG plants to “fully utilize renewable energy.”

Napocor will no longer purchase diesel-powered generator sets