The government is looking for additional credit line for National Power Corp. aside from the P5 billion approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to fund the budget gap in the Small Power Utilities Group or missionary areas.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said during the 54th founding anniversary of the National Electrification Administration on Wednesday that this would be on top of the P6 billion released by the Department of Budget and Management.
“Right now, we are working on getting additional credit line for National Power Corporation just to bridge the gap in the universal charge for missionary electrification that has lagged behind the needs of the of the SPUG areas,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla thanked the President for the release of P6 billion for the fuel requirements of the missionary areas.
Lotilla said government should balance the increasing funding to Napocor and its impact on the rates of consumers.
“If we increase overnight the universal charge for missionary electrification, the immediate effect is to increase the rates in the grid areas, and we have to avoid that because right now the inflationary effect of electricity prices are also going to hurt the customers in the grid areas,” the energy chief said.
“Eventually we will have to recover all of these amounts from ourselves as customers, but to soften it in such a way that this is going to be done gradually is the challenge before us,” he said.
The higher diesel prices, which impacted the cost of fuel in SPUG areas, was due due to the Ukraine crisis last year.
Meanwhile, Lotilla assured electric cooperatives of the department’s for the implementation of the 100-percent electrification by 2028.
The country’s electrification level stood at 96 percent as of December 2022.
“Those numbers can change, and therefore that means also that the challenge for us, including or especially our electrical cooperatives will be much greater,” Lotilla said.
“We must find solutions that are tailor made for each and every electric cooperative because no one size fits all,” he said.
Lotilla lauded the ECs for their ability to respond to the needs for repair and rehabilitation, especially during national disasters.
“And since extreme events will continue to come more often, and in fact in the greater intensity as climate change also happens, our preparation for these should even be greater,” he said.
He said ECs have a duty and responsibility to make sure that the quality and affordability of its services meet the needs and expectations of the people.