by Myrna Velasco September
28, 2016
Some members of
Congress are reportedly not receptive to the proposal of the Department of
Energy (DOE) to re-align the Malampaya fund to retire the whopping P245-billion
residual debts of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management
Corporation (PSALM).
Yet in an interview
with reporters, Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella indicated they
are hoping those opposing parties would eventually re-consider their position
so electricity rates could be pared for the Filipino consumers.
The sentiments of some
lawmakers had also been sounded off by Senate committee on energy Chairman Sherwin
Gatchalian, although he noted that the details of the legislative proposal on
the use of the Malampaya fund have yet to be fleshed out.
Fuentebella qualified
that “the proposal will have to be decided by Congress. We are looking at every
detail… and we are trying to identify sources on how we can bring prices down
and we have already identified some measures.”
While the intent of the
Malampaya fund use is considered noble and defensible, some stakeholders in the
power industry are also ambivalent as to the final execution of the policy.
Some quarters are
pointing out that since cash is fungible, the checks and balances shall be
airtight so the funds would not get into the pockets of reprobate officials and
individuals.
The industry
stakeholders can no longer put their trust blindly on the frequent desire of
every administration to tap into the Malampaya fund, because in many instances,
extracted cash from it had always been abused and misused.
There is that high
degree of doubt also on the current DOE leadership because they have been
treading the industry’s “learning curve too long” and yet it has been the
allure of the Malampaya fund that got into their radar first – and there has
not been any serious move to at least call for an extensive financial forensics
on PSALM’s liabilities.
After three months in
office, the Cusi-led DOE is still at understanding the elementary facts
relating to power-supply demand outlook and may take even longer for them to
understand the industry’s more complex issues and concerns.
When asked about
proposals for a comprehensive audit of PSALM’s debts, Energy Secretary Alfonso
G. Cusi just indicated that there is “no need for it” and that they can just
latch on to past financial scrutiny undertaken by the Commission on Audit.
If the State’s royalty
share from the Malampaya project as well as other upstream petroleum ventures
would be funneled to retire PSALM debts, it is anticipated that power rates
will go down by as much as R0.28 per kilowatt hour.
There is that desire
for immediate approval of the legislated measure for that purpose because of
the more than P100-billion debts of PSALM falling due from 2017 to 2019.
If PSALM’s residual
liabilities could be retired via the Malampaya fund, the universal charges for
stranded debts and stranded contract costs may already disappear in the
consumers’ electric bills.
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