PSALM expects to reduce debt to P306 billion

By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 23, 2023, 7:05 pm
from manilastandard.net

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. expects to reduce its financial obligations to P306.6 billion by the end of 2023.

“I would like to highlight that in 2003, the highest level of financial obligation absorbed by PSALM was P1.2 trillion and down now in June 2023 to P315 billion, and we expect it to be about P300 billion in December of 2023,” PSALM president Dennis de la Serna said.

He said PSALM paid total obligations of P54.75 billion in the first semester of 2023, bringing the total paid as of June to P1.9 trillion.

PSALM, which manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp., said it was able to reduce the latter’s financial obligations by 75 percent.

“We have collected P740 billion of privatization proceeds, and we have settled about P23 trillion of borrowing costs, and we have remitted to the national government about P10.7 billion of dividends,” De La Serna said.

He said PSALM also continued to collect and disburse various universal charges.

PSALM privatized 45 power plants or 82 percent of the capacity of its portfolio.

PSALM successfully bid out the Casecnan hydro power plant this year and disposed of five real estate assets.

“Moving forward we hope to close the privatization of Casecnan and collect $526 million from the winning bidder. We want to privatize and dispose the remaining power plants of PSALM,” he said.

PSALM is proposing a P201.4-billion budget for 2024, compared P167 billion in 2023.