WB okays $20-M loan for rural power program

The World Bank has approved a $20-million loan (approximately P1 billion) to support the country’s rural electrification program, Energy Secretary Vincent Perez said yesterday.

Perez said the loan under the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be used specifically for the Philippine Rural Power Project (PRPP).

He added this World Bank and GEF financing package is one of the major components in President Arroyo’s state visit to the US.

Perez said a $10-million loan will be provided by the World Bank to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), which in turn will lend to electric cooperatives and other agencies to help improve rural electrification.

The DOE, on the other hand, will be responsible for the implementation of the activities funded by the other $10-million GEF grant.

GEF helps developing countries fund projects and programs that protect the global environment.

The PRPP will consist of two major components, namely: rural electrification and capacity building. The rural electrification component will cover both the main power grid and off-grid areas.

Perez said electric cooperatives could avail of the funding to upgrade and rehabilitate their existing systems or install stand-alone renewable energy systems and small-scale energy generation for off-grid areas.

He said the capacity building component will include the development and implementation of rationalized policies on subsidies, tariffs, regulation and integration of renewable energy technologies into the Missionary Electrification Development Plan (MEDP).

"This new loan has again manifested World Bank’s commitment to help bring meaningful reforms in the country especially in the power industry. We are more than thankful that a $10- million grant from the GEF has also been extended to the Philippines to complete this Rural Electrification Project," he said.

The energy chief said as of end (-) April, the country’s rural electrification level has reached 88 percent, bringing the number of barangays without electricity to only 5,033 of the total 41,999 barangays.