Psalm adjusts anew payment deadlines
By Jordeene B. Lagare – May 11, 2020
from The Manila Times
THE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) is extending anew the grace period to settle dues with the state-run corporation for the duration of the extended enhanced community lockdown (ECQ) in Luzon and other parts of the country.
In its latest advisory, Psalm stated that the extended payment period applies only to industry stakeholders that continue to be under ECQ from May 1 to 15, 2020.
“The pertinent dates and deadlines mentioned in the Psalm advisory dated Apr. 17, 2020 shall continue to be effective and applicable to all its power customers, universal charge (UC) collecting entities (CEs) and IPPAs (independent power producer administrators) operating in areas that are placed under general community quarantine starting May 1, 2020,” Psalm said in its advisory dated May 6, 2020.
All payments to Psalm falling due during the prolonged lockdown period will be amortized in four equal monthly installments, payable in four succeeding billing months following the lifting of the ECQ, without imposing any interest and penalties.
The installments shall be reflected as a separate item in the Psalm billings due on those succeeding months, it added.
It covers fees to Psalm on regular power bills, deferred accounting adjustments on generation rate adjustment mechanism and incremental currency exchange rate adjustment, automatic cost recovery mechanism true-up adjustments, remittances entitled to prompt payment discount, restructured accounts on power, and ancillary cervices payments due from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
Psalm also implements the aforementioned grace period and payment scheme to those collecting universal charges for their remittance of UC to the state-run firm.
Collecting agents, in turn, are expected to provide the same bill relief to all electricity end-users during the ECQ period.
UC covers the following: missionary electrification, environmental charge for watershed rehabilitation and management, and stranded debts.
Moreover, payments of IPPAs that fell due after the issuance of the March 26 advisory and up to April 14, for both capacity and energy payments, were likewise extended by the said advisory.
“Subsequently, all payments of IPPAs to Psalm were extended by the Psalm Advisory dated Apr. 17, 2020,” it said.
“Thus, for clarity, all IPPAs shall continue to follow the deadlines mentioned in the Psalm Advisory dated Apr. 17, 2020. It is only when it can be sufficiently shown to the satisfaction of Psalm that an IPPA supplies electric energy to a DU that serves an area that remains under ECQ beyond 30 April 2020, that a proportionate amount of the payments due Psalm from the said IPPA can be deferred and subjected to the extensions mentioned in this latest Psalm Advisory,” it added.
Payments from distribution utilities whose coverage areas are no longer under lockdown beyond April 30 shall correspondingly be remitted by these IPPAs to Psalm no later than the extended deadlines stipulated in last month’s notice.
“Psalm strongly reiterates its requirement to power customers, CEs, NGCP and IPPAs to immediately remit to Psalm any proportionate amounts that they may have already collected from their own customers, if any, without awaiting the extended due dates,” Psalm said.
“Customers who have the ability to pay are encouraged to continue to timely settle their bills with Psalm within the original due dates,” it added.
