By Alena Mae S. Flores Posted on Feb. 21, 2013 at 12:01am
The Energy Regulatory Commission rejected another petition by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. to impose higher electricity rates and recover P65 billion from consumers for the stranded debts of National Power Corp.
It issued the ruling a day after it approved a universal charge of P0.19 per kilowatt-hour to pay for Napocor’s stranded contract costs, translating into total amount of P53.6 billion.
PSALM asked the ERC to approve another universal charge of P0.0313 per kilowatt-hour to fill the stranded debts of Napocor, but the regulator rejected the new petition.
“Based on the parties’ submissions and records of the case, the ERC determined that after excluding certain expenditure items, such as the proposed operating expenses for National Transmission Corp. and the projected capital expenditures for the rehabilitation of the remaining hydropower plants of Napocor, no stranded debts will be incurred,” ERC said.
Stranded debts refer to any unpaid financial obligation of Napocor which have not been liquidated by the proceeds from the sale and privatization of Napocor assets.
The Electric Power Industry Reform Act allows PSALM to recover Napocor’s stranded debts through the universal charge.
The ERC said PSALM could still file a new application with the regulator on or before March 15, but these filings would have to be subjected to ERC scrutiny anew.
ERC on Tuesday approved the application of PSALM to recover from consumers Napocor’s stranded contract cost at P0.1938 per kWh starting the March billing period. source
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