THE World Bank Group approved a US$1-billion financing to help the Philippines expand access to affordable, reliable electricity and strengthen the water security of Filipinos.
In a statement on Monday, June 29, 2026, the World Bank said the Second Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Development Policy Loan (DPL) responds to one of the most pressing challenges facing Filipino households and businesses today: the high and volatile cost of electricity.
The DPL consists of a $1 billion loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a $20 million performance-based grant from the Livable Planet Fund.
World Bank said this was shaped by extensive consultations with relevant government agencies, the private sector, utilities, consumer groups, civil society organizations and local government units, ensuring that the supported reforms respond to the needs of Filipino communities.
Domestic energy
The DPL supports a package of landmark economic actions to scale up the country’s domestic energy capacity while mobilizing private investment.
These include the full operationalization of the Renewable Energy Market integration of electric vehicle charging into utility planning, and the launch of the Philippines’ first-ever offshore wind auction, which targets 3.3 gigawatts of contracted capacity by 2030 — enough to power millions of homes.
This is expected to mobilize around $7 billion in private investment, creating more jobs in the sector.
Installed RE energy capacity
World Bank expects that by 2027, the share of installed renewable energy capacity is targeted to go up from 30 percent to 42 percent, helping diversify the country’s energy mix and reduce its exposure to imported fossil fuel price shocks.
“The Philippines has everything it needs to power itself at lower cost— wind along its coasts, sunlight year-round, and geothermal energy beneath its soil,” Zafer Mustafaoglu, World Bank Division director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, said.
“This operation helps turn those natural advantages into reliable, affordable electricity for Filipino families and businesses. At a time when global energy markets are deeply volatile, this DPL helps the Philippines take control of its own energy future, support growth, and create jobs.”
The DPL is anchored in the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 and the country’s long-term vision, AmBisyon Natin 2040. It is designed to mobilize private capital at scale by creating the regulatory certainty and market architecture that investors need.
Beyond energy, it also tackles long-standing challenges in the water sector, where more than 1,600 local government units are responsible for providing services but often lack the financing and institutional capacity to do so reliably.
It supports cost-recovery tariff frameworks, a unified financing structure that prioritizes poor and climate-vulnerable communities, and bulk water pricing regulations — scaling the number of local water providers with sustainable business plans from 10 to 100 by 2027. / PNA
