DBP pipelines P58 billion for energy financing

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is expected to pour in some P58 billion in energy financing until 2030 in a bid to expand electricity access in the Philippines, especially in far-flung areas.

DBP president and CEO Michael de Jesus said the bank is ready to provide the needed financing to energy players in the country to support the government’s move to ramp up initiatives in the sector.

This amid the need to meet the country’s rising demand for power as the economy sustains its growth momentum.

De Jesus said that by 2023, DBP would have provided P58 billion in funding for additional investments in power generation and distribution.

This includes exploration and development of indigenous energy sources, construction of additional power plants and transmission networks and establishment of energy facilities to ensure steady and reliable power supply.

DBP’s loan projects for the energy sector are lumped under its Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development (FUSED), the bank’s flagship credit facility that prioritizes increased access to electricity services in the countryside.

FUSED has so far contributed about P78.489 billion in investment in the energy sector.

The program is also aimed at supporting the government’s energy projects focused on promoting affordable, reliable and sustainable solutions to the country’s power needs.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan 2020-2040 of the Department of Energy, the Philippines peak power demand would grow four-fold at an annual increment of 6.6 percent to reach 54,655 megawatts in 2040 from 15,282 MW recorded in 2020.

“Our loan programs for the energy sector would be beneficial to firms seeking to expand capacity or venture into power generation projects especially in underserved areas of the country,” de Jesus said.

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets. It provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy namely, infrastructure and logistics, MSME, environment, and social services and community development.