Napocor to lose P34-B this year

State-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) is projecting a net loss of P34 billion this year more than three times the P10.4-billion loss recorded last year.

In a press conference, Napocor OIC-president and chief executive officer Roland Quilala said the targeted net loss is more than double the P16.3 billion programmed losses last year.

Quilala said the projected loss for this year includes the additional cost of separation benefits for more than 8,000 Napocor employees.

He said estimates show that they will spend about P13 billion for the severance pay for the Napocor employees affected by the power firm’s privatization.

Quilala said they will also pay some $800 million to $900 million in maturing obligations this year.

The Napocor official said they also have to take into consideraton the impact of the operations of gas-fired Ilijan power plant where Napocor has a stake. "We have to input into our operational expenses the purchase of fuels for our Ilijan power plant," he said.

Last year, Napocor successfully trimmed down its losses by 20 percent to P10.4 billion from P12.9 billion in 2000.

The 2001 net loss figure was 36.3 percent better than the projected P16.3 billion for the year.

The better-than-expected 2001 performance was due to higher sales of 40,304 gigawatthours (gWh) of electricity during the period from a year-ago level of 37,320.

The firm’s revenues increased to P115.7 billion from the year-ago figure of P100.1 billion owing to the stronger demand for electricity in all grids operated by Napocor.

Sales from the regular and One Day Power Sales (ODPS) programs registered increases of 6.4 percent and 56.9 percent, respectively. Regular sales accounted for 38,119 gWh while sales from the ODPS program reached some 2,185 gWh.

However, Quilala said the implementation of the 30-centavo mandatory reduction after the approval of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EIRA) last year reduced the state-run power firm’s supposed earnings by P1.7 billion.

Quilala said the continuing efforts to streamline their operation also helped the company in lowering its losses.