PSALM pursues UC approval before ERC

Business Mirror
WEDNESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2012 19:52 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA


AMID the government’s efforts to find ways to manage the debts of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) on Wednesday said it would pursue its pending petition before the Energy Regulatory Commission to recover the universal charge (UC) for stranded debts (SD) and stranded contract costs (SCC). PSALM, in its petition, is proposing to charge power consumers for UC-SD-SCC costs of P0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and P0.36/kWh.
Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., PSALM president and chief executive, said they will renew their bid for the approval of the UC petitions despite the exploration of an option to tap the Malampaya funds as an alternative source to settle PSALM’s financial obligations.


Ledesma said the collection of the UC for stranded financial obligations is a fact recognized by lawmakers who drafted the reform law as a mandatory action to cover the deficit between the privatization proceeds and the debts.


PSALM filed the petitions for the UC rates for SD and SCC in June 2011, which stressed the importance of the UC in paying off a significant portion of its stranded obligations and, consequently, lessening its dependence on foreign borrowings.


“We see the UC as a viable tool that will strengthen PSALM’s resolve to reduce its deficit as mandated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act,” he pointed out.


Despite the significant reduction in the UC-SD and UC-SCC amounts filed in 2011, Ledesma said PSALM remains committed to finding ways to mitigate the impact of these charges to electricity consumers.


Ledesma said the latest UC filing to recover total SD and SCC amounting to P139 billion is significantly lower than the P518 billion previously filed with the ERC in 2009 and 2010.


(Paul Anthony A. Isla)