Published
April 20, 2018, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
The choice of the
Department of Finance (DOF) for a prospective president of state-run Power
Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) reportedly gained
objection from the Department of Energy (DOE), hence, no appointment had been
made until now.
Energy official-sources
previously tipped off the targeted posting of lawyer Irene Joy Besido-Garcia
for PSALM’s top post, being then the preference of the finance department, but
turn of events apparently did not run in her favor.
“Her appointment was
objected to by the DOE,” a highly placed source said. With that, the company
has to pursue its asset privatization initiatives and liability management
undertakings for now under Officer-in-Charge Arnold Francisco.
Industry sources
similarly hinted that the company’s president-in-waiting is not as keen anymore
on the post, as she has been giving remarks that her prospective salary at
PSALM, “cannot even buy me shoes.”
It is not known who is
the preferred candidate of the DOE or that of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi
at this point. The last one that was seriously considered for the position was
former Solicitor General Agnes T. Devanadera, now chairman of the Energy
Regulatory Commission.
PSALM still has more
than R500 billion worth of power sector debts and liabilities that it will need
to dispose of, with no clear signs yet that this can really be wiped out
totally before the end of its corporate life in 2026.
Without remedial
measures that may be pursued by the company, that scale of liabilities will
have to be shouldered by the Filipino consumers – over a stretch of 9-10 years
at a universal charge (UC) rate of R0.35 per kilowatt hour (kWh), that was as
of the last calculation.
The UC components in
the bill partly account for the stranded debts and stranded contract costs of
PSALM, which is a charge passed on to all consumers.
The state-run company’s
liabilities could only be eased or brought down if it can maximize proceeds
from the remaining sale of National Power Corporation (NPC) assets, but until
now, its targets on this sphere have not been moving as expected.
The other measure
dangled to trim PSALM”s UC pass-on cost to consumers would be to utilize
fraction of the Malampaya fund to write off the remaining debts of NPC.
Until now, however, the
government cannot set a definitive track and timeframe yet on that proposed
rate reduction due to legal and policymaking hurdles.
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