NEA lends P846M to 22 electric cooperatives

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has extended P846.71 million worth of loans to 22 electric cooperatives (ECs) across the country as of end-August to fund their operations and intensify efforts for 100-percent electrification by the end of President Marcos’ term, the agency said last week.

According to NEA, P411.86 million of the total was utilized for the capital expenditure loans of 16 ECs.

Seven ECs borrowed a combined P372 million to use as working capital, while Misamis Oriental I Electric Cooperative Inc. loaned P12.85 million for its modular generator set.

Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc., meanwhile, got a P50-million short-term credit facility loan.

NEA, an attached agency of the Department of Energy (DOE) in charge of rural electrification, regularly offers financial assistance to ECs through its Enhanced Lending Program.

The program consists of regular, calamity and concessional loans, stand-by and short-term credit loans, single-digit system loss, renewable energy and modular generator set loans.

In his second State of the Nation Address in July, Mr. Marcos emphasized that some 5 million Filipinos still without access to power would all have their homes electrified by 2028.

The country’s electrification level stood at 96 percent in December 2022, according to the DOE.

Last year, NEA loaned P960.85 million to 31 ECs, with the majority deployed as calamity loans. INQ