Government extends P2.8 billion loan to power coops

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January 15, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — State-funded loans totaling P2.8 billion were released last year to support projects and working capital needs of at least 45 electric cooperatives (ECs), according to the National Electrification Administration.

Based on NEA data issued yesterday, the bulk of the financing was processed for capital expenditure projects of 34 ECs — 15 in Luzon, eight in Visayas and 11 in Mindanao.

The NEA also facilitated P965 million in working capital loans for 11 ECs serving power consumers in Albay, Cagayan de Sulu, Camarines Sur, Cotabato, Negros Oriental, northern Negros, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Sultan Kudarat and Tarlac.

Around P142.4 million in calamity loans, meanwhile, were released to help ECs rehabilitate critical energy infrastructure affected by typhoons.

“The NEA under the current administration provides financial assistance to its partner ECs through its enhanced lending program. The mechanism aims to ensure their operations will continue for the benefit of their member-consumer-owners,” the agency said.

Through ECS, the NEA drives the country’s rural electrification efforts.

NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda expects rural electrification to hit 94 percent this year, bringing power within reach of more households in the countryside.

The agency intends to prioritize Mindanao, focusing on geographically isolated and underserved areas. Also on the NEA’s radar are communities in northern Luzon and the Negros Island Region in Visayas.

In another development, the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) is seeking the immediate intervention of the NEA and the Department of Energy amid rising Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices.

Nasecore warned that persistent delays in processing both emergency power supply agreements and competitive selection process terms of reference are pushing ECs toward WESM as a last resort.

“While such review may be intended as part of internal oversight, the absence of a definite timeline has resulted in prolonged exposure of ECs to volatile WESM purchases, to the direct detriment of their captive consumers,” the group said in a letter to Energy Secretary Sharon Garin.

In December, the average WESM rate in Visayas spiked by 36.6 percent month-on-month to P7.22 per kilowatt-hour, data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines showed.

Mindanao WESM prices rose even more sharply, jumping by 56.7 percent to P7.82 per kWh.