THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) said loan collections fell in the first half after electric cooperatives were given more time to make payments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With a collection efficiency rate of 95.90%, the agency took in P773.91 million worth of amortization from rural utilities, down 27% from a year earlier, according to a report issued by the NEA’s Finance Services Department.
Some electric cooperatives were able to make advance payments, while others took advantage of the grace periods offered in the past two quarters.
“The agency attributed this drop to no payment received from the ECs (electric cooperatives) for the first semester of 2020 but used the advance payment instead to pay for loan amortizations due,” it said.
“The lower collection was also due to the extension of the 30-day grace period for first and second quarter amortization payments in compliance with the directive of regulatory agencies in light of the coronavirus pandemic,” it added.
It identified the rural utilities making the most payments as Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative – Area 2, Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative, First Laguna Electric Cooperative, and Misamis Oriental I Rural Electric Service Cooperative.
In the seven months to July, NEA extended P343.45 million in loans to electric cooperatives, most of which supported electrification projects and working capital requirements.
The agency tasked with electrifying the countryside offers various loan windows to rural utilities, such as regular, calamity, and concessional loans, stand-by and short-term loans, single-digit system loss loans, renewable energy loans, and modular generator set loans. — Adam J. Ang