By Lenie Lectura- July 4, 2019
NINETEEN electric cooperatives (ECs)
availed of loan assistance worth P395 million from the National Electrification
Administration (NEA) as of end-June this year, the state firm said on
Wednesday.
Among those ECs that availed loans
were those operating in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Tarlac, Laguna, Occidental
Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Ticao Island, Capiz, Zamboanga del Norte,
Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Cotabato, Sulu, Siasi, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat
Island and Surigao del Sur.
The NEA said the amount would be
used to bankroll the EC’s capital expenditure projects and working capital
requirement.
These include construction of
sub-transmission and distribution lines, substations, office buildings,
rehabilitation and upgrading of distribution system and mini hydro power plant,
and acquisition of vehicles and other logistical support.
The loan assistance is part of the
fast-track lane being implemented by the NEA, which has supervisory powers over
121 ECs in the country as mandated under Republic Act 10531.
The NEA said it also extended P10
million in calamity loan to support the rehabilitation works of the Abra
Electric Cooperative. The amount was meant to finance the
rehabilitation of the distribution system and other facilities of Abreco that
were damaged by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) last year.
A calamity loan is payable in
10 years with a maximum grace period of one year at 3.25 percent interest
rate per annum. The processing time is seven days
“For this year, the NEA has targeted
P450 million for its financial assistance to ECs through various loan
windows. The amount is lower compared with last year’s P1.7 billion
target. Despite this, the NEA continues to find ways to assist our ECs in
the implementation of their electrification projects,” NEA Administrator
Edgardo Masongsong said.
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