Add’l P10-B Credit Line For NPC Sought

An additional credit line of P10 billion for state-run National Power Corporation (NPC) is planned for next year to prevent blackouts in the off-grid areas it has been servicing.

Photo Insert: The NPC has 158 power plants, but it has only been servicing at least 28 percent of the energy needs of end-users in the small-island grids. The bulk of 70 percent or about 43 sites are now served by private power entities.

The new amount, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said, will be on top of the P5 billion that had been funneled to the power firm when it was struggling last year to keep up electricity services at its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) service domain.

NPC President and CEO Fernando Y. Roxas told Congress that the total budget required by NPC next year would top P41 billion.

The lion’s share of P35 billion, or about 84% shall be earmarked for its maintenance and other operating expenses; P11.57 billion will be for fuel procurement and the balance will be for the operation of its SPUG plants and barges.

Another P18.6 billion shall be set for subsidy payments to its new power providers (NPPs) and qualifying third parties (QTPs) or the private sector players that entered as service providers in these off-grid jurisdictions.

He qualified that the NPC has 158 power plants, but it has only been servicing at least 28 percent of the energy needs of end-users in the small-island grids. The bulk of 70 percent or about 43 sites are now served by private power entities.

Beyond the MOOE allotments, Roxas noted that NPC will also be needing P3.6 billion worth of capital outlay for 2024 primarily for its SPUG plants; while P2.7 billion will cover personnel services for the more than 2,000 workforce of the company.

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