You Can Pay Less For Your Electricity Bills With This Loan Program

Facing due dates is like beating deadlines at work, except you spend money to pay for your bills. For a lot of people, it could be stressful and frustrating, especially when you know you’ve been consuming so much — whether that’s on electricity, water, or internet connection. And it’s hard to even attempt on saving up on these things, especially over the last few weeks, because the heat is just too much to bear.

But there are options now available to help consumers avoid the burden of overwhelming payments. Designed to make electricity rates more affordable for consumers, the Anti Bill Shock lending program is a helpful option to consider in preparation for your next due date.

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Recently, both the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) have called on power distribution utilities to make use of the program.

DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla highlighted how this could ease the burden of Filipino households, “as we confront the challenges of rising temperatures and increased energy demands.”

“The Anti Bill Shock lending program of Land Bank presents a win-win situation for our electric distribution utilities and consumers,” ERC chairperson and chief executive officer Monalisa Dimalanta said. “It helps ensure sufficient and affordable energy access nationwide while protecting Filipino households from electricity bill shock during [the] summer.”

What the Anti-Shock Bill Lending Program is and how it works

The Anti-Bill Shock Lending Program, led by the Land Bank of the Philippines, provides financing to electricity distribution utilities at concessional rates. With this, distributors can spread out the incremental increases in customers’ billings by up to nine months without passing the borrowing costs to consumers. Utilities are required to implement their own anti-bill shock programs to protect their customers from expected hikes in their electricity bills, too.

Under the program, electricity distribution utilities, as well as electric cooperatives, may loan up to 80 percent of the incremental increases on their power generation and transmission charges during the summer. But these should not exceed their repayment capacity or three times the average billings of their power suppliers.

So, in a nutshell, it’s a short-term loan facility for distributors that ultimately helps consumers who cannot afford to settle their bills in full.

The Anti Shock Bill lending program was launched in April 2023 with an initial funding of P1.5 billion. As of March this year, Land Bank has approved P450 million in loans to electric cooperatives.