- To reinforce its cash hoard, the state-owned firm is banking on the collection of P152.4 billion worth of deferred payments from divested power facilities, including the supply contracts of the IPPs, as well as concession fees for the privatized transmission asset of the country.
State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) will be chasing P25.1 billion worth of receivables from distribution utilities (DUs) or electric cooperatives (ECs) with delinquent payments in their power supply over the years.
According to PSALM President and CEO Dennis Edward A. Dela Serna, the regional power utility that remains heavily indebted with the government-owned firm is Lanao Del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. (LASURECO) in Mindanao, with financial obligations already swelling to P14.2 billion as of June this year.
He added that the other Mindanao EC with significant unpaid supply purchases from PSASLM is Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (MAGELCO), with registered outstanding financial obligations of P3.3 billion.
Additionally, Dela Serna indicated that the Public Utilities Department (PUD) in Olongapo City still owes PSALM with colossal P7.6 billion, and that also accounted for unpaid power supply procured from the state-run power firm over the years.
For LASURECO, in particular, there have been previous recommendations to have its mounting debts with PSALM written off, but that was never concretized when it was proposed in the past Aquino and Duterte administrations.
When all of these receivables will be remitted into PSALM’s coffers, the company executive emphasized that they will have additional resources to pay the remaining financial liabilities that had been transferred under its charge by its precursor-firm National Power Corporation.
Based on the power company’s estimates, the outstanding financial obligations could level off at P315.3 billion by the end of this year and that could only be pared when additional revenues will flow from its continued privatization activities and operation of remaining power generation assets.
Apart from the DUs and ECs with unsettled liabilities, Dela Serna stated that the company will also “collect receivables on delinquent power accounts,” including past due payments of the Independent Power Producer Administrators (IPPAs) of the privatized NPC supply contracts.
To reinforce its cash hoard, the state-owned firm is further banking on the collection of P152.4 billion worth of deferred payments from divested power facilities including the supply contracts of the IPPs, as well as concession fees for the privatized transmission asset of the country.
One major collection it can corner will be the $526 million proceeds from the sale of the Casecnan hydropower plant, which is scheduled for financial closing by the end of this year.
